Sir – With the row over the Port Meadow blocks still unresolved, the Magnet proposal looks like being Oxford’s next major planning controversy.

Exciting as the idea of a science discovery centre might be, the site at the corner of New Road and Tidmarsh Lane could hardly be more sensitive or the proposed building less appropriate.

The New Road facade will largely obscure fine views of Oxford Castle’s Norman motte from Worcester Street and the Tidmarsh Lane frontage will radically alter the atmospheric view towards St George’s Tower.

The scheme will also lead to the demolition of the Register Office which makes a very positive contribution to the character of the area and performs a useful social function. Local taxpayers will be left to fund a replacement which is unlikely to be so well sited and fit for purpose.

The supporters of Magnet argue that the benefits of the scheme will outweigh any environmental disadvantages but there is no compelling reason why the discovery centre has to be here and it could, for example, provide a key attraction in the new Oxpens development.

On such a constricted site, it also seems unnecessary to provide space for embryonic businesses in science and technology. With that element relocated elsewhere, a smaller discovery centre could occupy the Macclesfield House site and the Register Office could be retained. As things stand, it is hard to imagine anywhere else in Europe where you might find so insensitive a proposal for a site beside an 11th-century monument.

Malcolm Graham, Oxford