Sir – It was disheartening to read Reg Little’s report (October 1) of an indefinite delay in completing the interiors of the externally sublime buildings of the Centre for Islamic Studies.
Governments interested in furthering Islamic studies will prefer going concerns in their own countries, not a distant dream of Alhambra-on-Cherwell.
I urge the trustees to consider expedients to bring at least some of the buildings into interim use. For example: l Work with muslims in Oxford to open the mosque unfinished, both for prayers, and to allow the public to enjoy its existing austere beauty.
l Offer Magdalen College, or Brookes University, or both, short-term (say 20-year) leases of parts of the buildings, for student accommodation or other academic purposes (subject, of course, to planning permission).
The sale of such leases would fund the installation of services, interim landscaping, and some basic accommodation and office space for visiting scholars.
If the trustees remain unable to make use of the buildings, the city council must consider a compulsory purchase order, at a valuation which reflects the huge cost of adapting the incomplete buildings for alternative uses.
Nicholas Lawrence, Oxford
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