Among the many positive qualities of Oxford as a university city is that it comprises a major European experience in terms of architecture and urban design of many different periods. Together with Cambridge it has no rival elsewhere in the continuity of its academic life that takes place in old and new buildings in a busy, modern and complex town.
Oxford is also special for its historical setting in green countryside - dreaming spires against a green backdrop - as one of our most remarkable and precious assets inherited from past times. This relationship between the built and natural environment is the fortunate result of geography, hydrology and human history. The countryside, which should not be confused with the Green Belt, is something of a visual Illusion, as the setting is no longer primarily agricultural. It comprises a mix of under-managed flood plain meadows with residential and industrial areas, held together with trees and hedgerows, backed by wooded hillsides. The historic town is set above the two river systems of the Thames and Cherwell, on a low ridge with hillsides to the east and west that create a landscape bowl for the town and skyline to preside over.
The city in its setting can be seen from many vantage points, on the east from Elsfield and Headington Hill, and at low level over Port Meadow and over the Hinksey Meadows. It is now best observed as a long panorama from old established and newly accessible locations on the western hills between Botley and Hinksey Hill. The long view from Oxford Preservation Trust's publicly accessible Old Berkeley Golf Course on Boar's Hill, bought from developers in the 1920s, provides the most compelling memory for many.
Many Oxford people will have favourite viewpoints and glimpses gained on foot but even the motorist can experience an impression from the A34 and other roads. Many more people are conscious of the setting and skyline through the work of photographers, who can enlarge their printed image in a way the human eye cannot. Such images can cut out the unwanted and are often printed in reverse without comment. In the real world, experiencing the setting of the city shows a different truth, a tender landscape, not unsullied, and a setting sensitive to damage by unthinking changes.
From the west, traffic noise and the traiI of lorries on the A34 do nothing to enhance the view or its enjoyment. The serried ranks of power lines are disruptive in the view, despite a brave attempt to reduce their impact by undergrounding a major grid line route between North and South Hinksey, in the mid twentieth century. The decision to relocate the Radcliffe Infirmary at Headington to the east has had a major impact on many important views of the city. The expansion of the John Radcliffe Hospital has compounded the visual damage.
Recently real visual insult has happened with the erection of a coloured box, enclosing a printing press for Newsquest on the Osney Mead Industrial Estate. This rectangular construction has no visual merit, and bIunders into views from the western hills, particularly from Raleigh Park. It makes an excellent example of what has been called a carbuncle on the face of an old friend, a thoughtless spoiling of something good. The planning authority ignored the then relevant policies EN25 and 26 in the 1991-2001 Local Plan, which were designed to protect Oxford's setting and skyline and the views from the static 'view cone' locations of which Raleigh Park is one. Now this viewpoint is memorable for Tom Tower at Christ Church sitting on top of a buff box instead of rising from trees.
These comments come in reaction to an even bigger disaster, and one which is proposed by the very organisation which created much of the historic city over such a long and impressive time span. There is no doubt that the University's Bodleian Library is of fundamental importance to Oxford and the greater world of learning. It needs to modernise and change so that it can continue to serve readers and research in the future. The debate within the University, of which there has been a great deal, has centred on the Bodleian Library using the Osney site, recently occupied by Blackwell's who have moved to Cowley. Regrettably, its advisors have failed to take account of the wider implications of placing the new book depository on raised flood plain land at Osney Mead, in a building the height and bulk of which has only recently emerged. Whatever the architectural detailing and disguising, the recommendation from the University's consultants is a great box-like shed.
It takes a little assimilation to grasp the size and impact of this large structure, which would be 95 metres long by 73 metres wide and 18 metres high. If transferred to St Aldate's it would fill Tom Quad at Christ Church. It would dwarf any offence offered by Newsquest. At 18 metres high the depository roof would be at a similar height to Newsquest, but of an entirely different dimension and sited much closer to the historic city, right up against the River Thames. It might look rather like a raised football pitch.
Such a proposal cannot be right. If the consultants are correct and economy demands fourteen rows of high-access cranes, such a depository should be built elsewhere. Even if proposed at the Cowley Business Park this would be a difficult building to integrate into its surroundings. At Osney the result would be catastrophic. The Universitv must think again. Account must be taken of the City of Oxford Local Plan 2001-16 policy HE.13, which is currently designed to protect Oxford's setting, skyline and views. As the editorial note in Oxford Magazine No. 196 Michaelmas 2001 said 'it remains to establish quite how a scheme of this kind could get so far without adequate critical examination' when referring to the unsound proposals for the Bodleian Visitor Centre. Where was the critical examination when the decision to build such a large structure was taken?
Any proposals for Osney Mead should take account of City CounciI policies and respect the historic and natural environment of Oxford as a whole. Oxford should be treated as a world class historic city which still does have a world class setting. In terms of historic towns Oxford is also the jewel in the crown of southern England, with a skyline of world renown. We must keep it that way. If the present proposal was to happen it will become a famous skyline set over boxes.
Readers are recommended to visit Hinksey Heights. The golf course development has created an excellent public place to enjoy Oxford's setting from the west. Access by car is signed from the west side of the A34 access bridge to South Hinksey. Best of all walk from Folly Bridge, via the Devil's Backbone path and South Hinksey village, with refreshment available at the golf-course, in 'The Caddy Hut'. The walk may be continued along the hillside to Raleigh Park and the Hinksey Hill Carfax Conduit well-house.
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