The decision to approve the Bodleian Library book repository at Osney Mead, Oxford, in spite of its detrimental impact on the legendary view of the dreaming spires, is just another example of how city leaders and planners have abandoned any vision for the future of Oxford (Oxford Mail, September 27).

There are many others.

City planners have supported development on Warneford Meadow to raise funds for the NHS and crave to build on Southfield Golf Course, despite the importance of these green spaces for local communities.

Across the city, allotments and playing fields are being eyed by planners for their development potential and, as this newspaper has reported, too many play areas are in decline.

The Kassam Stadium site is a design catastrophe, as is the planned Osney Mead repository, which is nothing other than an ugly box capped with a wavy roof in an ineffectual attempt to limit the damage it will inflict on Oxford's skyline.

The setting of the Oxford Canal is being systematically degraded as companies and public bodies take profit from its real estate value at the expense of its historic character.

And the city council's ambition for an urban extension south of Grenoble Road is due to launch Oxford on to a path that will see dreary sprawl spilling across the green fields that protect its character.

These and so many recent decisions are symptomatic of a malaise that is overtaking the city.

Hasty decisions are being made for short term gain and they are rapidly eroding the character of this centuries old city.

Does anyone believe that Osney Mead would have been considered for a book repository if the university had not already owned the site? Of course not.

Oxford is a unique city on the world stage and planners must nurture its uniqueness by protecting its historical, natural and intellectual environments.

Its skylines and green spaces are as much a part of its character as its historic buildings, waterways, universities and businesses.

It is time for the city to take a principled stance and renew its vision of Oxfordshire as a world class city.

If the city's leaders, planners and universities cannot aspire to a world class vision of Oxford, by 2027, this will truly be a ruined city of dreary sprawl and dreaming spires obscured.

ANDY BODDINGTON Campaign Manager Campaign to Protect Rural England Oxfordshire