Sir – Headington is paying dearly for flaws in current planning processes.

Development is now market led and it is the developer who is in control, rather than the town planner of 30 years ago.

Now, it is planning pfficers who ‘facilitate’ development proposals for developer-led projects — these schemes are not part of a master plan or vision that balances housing, leisure, work and transport for that community.

House builders now can submit speculative bids to procure maximum profit from high density builds, or, as we see in Headington, the universities and sponsoring drug and medical institutions are keen to construct massive ‘landmark’ or ‘statement’ buildings to showcase their status — increasingly ‘in the face’ of residential neighbours.

The cash that comes with each proposal is very tempting to the city and county to bolster dwindling coffers, and puts even more pressure on officers and councillors to accept bids that push the boundaries of Local Plan policies to outrageous limits.

The two universities and five hospital sites in Headington have been the focus of massive institutional development over the last ten years — estimated at £0.75bn — but the meagre cash raised by each project is not alleviating traffic and transport issues, and cannot balance the impact on the residential community.

The latest £57m bid by the University is another element of incremental growth, but cash for Thornhill park-and-ride does not address the host of infrastructure and neighbourhood issues the project adds to.

The planning inspector, who reviewed the core strategy, offered a warning that the residential community of Headington was under stress, but there are no town planners now to recognise the dangers, and sadly, I don’t know who else is strong enough to act on it.

Harry Edwards, Headington