Sir – The Trap Grounds Town Green between the railway line and the canal in North Oxford, is difficult to access from the south. We propose a new entrance at the north end of Navigation Way so that people who live south of the Town Green can reach it more easily.
Part of the Trap Grounds, about 4.5 acres, was registered as a Town Green in 2006/7 for ‘legal sports and pastimes’ on the basis of walking, picnicking and wildlife observation over 20 years. The main entrance is from Frog Lane at the northern end. Entrance from the south is totally inadequate.
To reach the open southern part of the Town Green from nearby houses by an official route, one would have to walk there and back via the canal footpath, Frog Lane and the tortuous paths. It would be much simpler and damage wildlife less, to go back and forth through the Navigation Way fence.
The Trap Grounds is a resource for the local human community. A few more visitors would deter wrongdoers while hardly disturbing wild species. It is paradoxical that this iconic Town Green has worse access than to any of the other open spaces administered by the Oxford City Parks Department.
Tim King, Chairman, St Margaret’s Area Society
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