Sir – Peter Howell (Letters, June 3) is a devotee of the 1930s New Bodleian while Hugh Jaeger detests it; others would plant trees in Broad Street; while I quite fancy a Warsaw-style dressing of the façade with a replica of the lost historic buildings.
One suspects the public might favour the approved scheme. Who is to decide between the sane and the zany? It would indeed seem that a delegated decision represents a deficit in democracy, though it will be based on due consideration of representations that all have had an opportunity of making beforehand.
Consideration by a proper city-wide planning committee would seem fairly sensible, but could not there also be a forum for public review of current cases?
A conservation advisory panel could at least allow organisations to balance the views of individuals, and allow an open and accessible discussion of matters affecting the historic environment of the whole city.
Julian Munby, Oxford
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