Sir – The concept of doughnut cities is in common usage, in particular in America, to describe cites where development has moved to the outskirts.

I would suggest that something of the same is now developing in Oxford, except that the exodus is of public services and facilities, leaving the centre for academic and commercial use only. This is evidenced in the proposal to relocate Oxford’s main police station to Pear Tree.

The police provide a vital service, not only in responding to any crime but also in providing a centre for help and assistance.

A glance inside St Aldate’s inquiry office will prove the point.

To relocate this service to the very edge of the city will be an immense inconvenience and help to fracture the relationship that exists between the police and the public it serves.

There is also the matter of city centre policing. As it would take 90 minutes for an officer to walk from Pear Tree to the central area and so the police will be bussed in and out, hardly very conducive to good community policing relationships.

Also, traditionally police stations have been adjacent to the courts and the present synergy in St Aldate’s could hardly be bettered.

No doubt a city centre office will be promised but any office is not a fully functioning police station and never can be.

The only reason for this relocation is to enable the sale of the present station site.

A capital receipt for the police authority, which will in any case be deducted from the Home Office grant, is not a valid reason for a dereliction of duty to the public in depriving the city of an accessible vital facility.

P. Hornby (Mr), Oxford