Sir – So the Oxon and Bucks Mental Health Trust is seeking a judicial review into OCC’s decision to register Warneford Meadow as a town green — despite the fact that an exhaustive public inquiry concluded that the meadow conforms to the legal definition of a town green.

Warneford Meadow was bought in 1918 by the trustees of the hospital, specifically to protect it from development and provide outdoor recreation for patients. Now, the NHS wants to sell it for development for a variety of uses, mainly student housing for Brookes University. There are other sites in the area already proposed for these uses.

To build on the meadow as well would add to existing traffic problems and destroy a much-loved, undisturbed open space.

OBMHT says it needs to sell the meadow for up to £20m in order to improve hospital buildings. No one denies that mental health patients in Oxford should benefit from up-to-date facilities, but we have a National Health Service in the UK and, if wards in Oxfordshire need upgrading, the Trust should meet the costs from NHS central funds.

Warneford Meadow hosts a rich variety of wildlife, and is part of a corridor stretching from the Cherwell to the Thames.

Expert opinion increasingly recognises the value of open space for mental as well as physical well-being.

Professor Sir Muir Gray, Chief Knowledge Officer of the NHS, has said that the Meadow offers a resource for Warneford and Churchill patients as well as residents.

The meadow is a natural health resource ideally situated between two major hospitals. Instead of recognising its priceless value, OBMHT chooses to spend public money prolonging uncertainty about the future of the Meadow, and imposing substantial legal costs on OCC and local residents. What a waste.

Andrew Carter, On behalf of Friends of Warneford Meadow