Sir – In 1918, Warneford Meadow became part of Warneford Mental Hospital so that patients would have a calm and peaceful outlook to aid their recovery.

In 2009, the Churchill Cancer Hospital, overlooking the meadow, opened and the architect noted that no one should be separated from the cycle of nature and the sights and sounds of the natural environment.

The continuity of thought is evident and shows how much green spaces are valued as an aid to healthy living, both mental and physical. It is, therefore, particularly poignant that, following an unprecedented campaign by local residents, and a lengthy public enquiry, Oxfordshire County Council’s planning committee recommended to register Warneford Meadow as a town green.

Oxfordshire villages have some of the most splendid village greens in England, and their existence represents an ancient right of ‘commoners’.

The nature of where and how we live has changed, but the need for ‘village’ greens, now in towns, has not diminished; indeed, with areas of East Oxford increasingly ‘penned’ in by traffic, the need for accessible open space has increased.

Despite the historical move from rural to town living, there was, until recently, no mechanism to enable some small parts of the green environment to be saved for community use.

But now the delight of a meadow in Oxford will be there for our children to enjoy.

Yet, notwithstanding the clear wishes of the local community, the NHS has sought to oppose the registration of Warneford Meadow at every opportunity.

This has created ill will and a reputation for arrogance: of an institution trying to dominate the community.

There is a chance of enlightenment, perhaps enhanced by the late, but welcome, realisation that big institutions and small communities must live together in order to prosper.

K. D. Patterson, Oxford