Sir - Paul Hornby could not be more wrong in saying that Oxford has no need for a purpose-built concert hall (Letters, May 16).

The venues he mentions for large events - the Sheldonian, Playhouse and New Theatre - all have serious shortcomings, as any regular concert-goer will tell him.

The same is true of the Town Hall. He should visit the Anvil at Basingstoke, the Derngate at Northampton or the Hexagon at Reading, to name but three, to experience the sort of concert hall which a city of the size and cultural prestige of Oxford deserves, but which I fear I shall not see in my lifetime.

Michael Dowsett, Oxford