Sir – I would like to draw your attention to a statement made by the inspector in the introduction and overall conclusions of his report on the examination into the Oxford core strategy, which included the Northern Gateway development plan (December, 2010): “Oxford, particularly its central area, is undoubtedly an area of exceptional historic quality and international importance and it is somewhat surprising that the SA [Sustainability Appraisal] does not give the historic environment a greater profile.

“It seems to me that coverage of the historic environment is brief. It does not distinguish between the different elements that contribute to the overall quality and importance of the area, with little reference, for example, to archaeology; its coverage of baseline data is limited, with little analysis of physical effects or mitigation measures.”

This is a damning indictment of the city council’s attitude towards the historic city that it has been elected to protect and serve.

In view of the above, I suppose we should hardly be surprised that councillor Mike Gotch (elected to serve the people and environment of Wolvercote Ward) leapt to his feet at the public meeting in Wolvercote {to tell us that the Northern Gateway development was ‘going to happen anyway’. One of the city council’s listed objectives in their development plan is a woolly commitment to ‘respond to the context of the natural and historic environment.’ Port Meadow is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Do they honestly believe that erecting a large, modern conurbation with five-storey buildings hard on its doorstep represents an appropriate response?

Far from ‘respond[ing] to the context of the natural and historic environment’, the council seems more than happy for it to be wilfully and irrevocably debased.

Harriet Milles, Wolvercote