Sir – It is devoutly to be hoped that the objections being raised over Oxford University’s plans (Report, August 11) for two new research centres to be built on what is popularly known as the Old Road Campus (ORC) can be resolved, for the importance to all of us of the medical research which will be carried forward by the new Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Kennedy Institute cannot, and should not, be understated.
It surely cannot be beyond the wit of all concerned to ensure that these new research centres will be “neighbour friendly” while at the same time becoming what Professor William James has described as “the foremost centre for medical research and healthcare innovation internationally”.
It is not an exaggeration to say that all of us will in some way benefit from Oxford University’s evolving research in the treatment of diseases such as arthritis and dementia; and the siting of two major research centres within easy reach of Oxford’s hospitals and existing research departments is practical and, in terms of traffic and housing pressures, practicable.
Oxonians, whether town or gown, must not lose this opportunity.
Bruce Ross-Smith, Headington
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