Sir – Ruskin’s proposal to build on its fields within the Old Headington Conservation Area has generated passionate debate.

This is understandable given the resulting destruction of ancient meadowlands and the rural nature of Stoke Place. Old Headington has been special for a very long time, with a history dating back to the early Kings of England. It is also unique within the city limits, as highlighted in the recent Old Headington Conservation Area Appraisal.

We should be careful about proposals which might change the area irretrievably.

Ruskin’s plans, whether intentionally or not, will be linked with the council’s project to build 1,000 new homes near Barton. The council faces a challenge making the best use of their land. One difficulty is how to incorporate the protected allotments in the middle of the development. One solution would be to move the allotments just across the ring road to Ruskin’s fields in the conservation area, which are clearly surplus to the college’s needs. Ruskin wishes to build 170 or more homes there.

Moving the allotments would allow the council to redesign the Barton development more effectively. In total this may create more housing than Ruskin’s plan and therefore increase the number of new affordable homes the city so desperately needs. Green space is vital to the health of a community. It may be more acceptable to lose the meadowland to cultivation rather than to dense urban development, especially if the field adjacent to Stoke Place is preserved as meadow thus maintaining the precious sense of countryside.

The Principal of Ruskin rightly highlights the college’s philosophy of helping those who have had a less fortunate start in life. They could achieve this as well as help preserve the special character of Old Headington by letting the council use the college land for allotments.

Neil Iggo, Old Headington