Sir – Chris Koenig’s piece on the sad demise of the Lord Nuffield Club, formerly known as Morris Motors Athletic Club, (Business, November 19) made for depressing reading.

In reality I believe that the main responsibility for this should really lie at the feet of the council.

An analogy would be letting a child alone in a sweetshop and then being surprised when sweets started to be eaten! This is exactly what the council allowed to happen in this instance.

If it’s true the sports field and bowling green are up for sale I believe it to be in the council and local residents’ interests to make sure this is not developed, but opened up again, providing leisure facilities that have been used over two centuries. Anything less would besmirch the council even more than this sorry story has already.

Hopefully the council’s own policy should prevent development of the land, I believe Policy SR2 (Protection of Sports Facilities) is one of them. I can only hope that the club and land is bought soon and opened up for the community as soon as possible so that it can again be used as William Morris originally envisaged all those years ago.

Gary Brimson, Cowley