Warneford Meadow
Encyclopedia
Warneford Meadow is an area of 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of natural grassland
immediately south-east of the Warneford Hospital
, in Headington
, East Oxford
, England
. The Warneford Meadow is one of the few remaining wild spaces within urban Oxford, and is appreciated by the local community for its biodiversity
and tranquillity
. The area has been used by local residents as a public space
for recreation
for over 50 years .
, a psychiatric hospital
, following the sale of the adjacent Southfield Farm . The purchase was funded by public
subscription, with the aim of providing natural green space for the psychological benefit of patients and the local community. Archaeological trenching performed in 2006 suggested a Roman
or pre-roman settlement
, or area of pottery
production, in the area of the present Meadow .
to the East. Several public paths run across the Meadow. South of the Meadow is the Southfield Park Golf Club and the Meadow is bounded to the west by homes on Hill Top Road. Warneford Meadow also includes an orchard, on the northern border of the Meadow with the Warneford Hospital
.
, some rare invertebrates, and birds including skylark
s and kingfishers. The Meadow forms part of the 'green corridor' which links South Park to the Thames via Boundary Brook .The Meadow's border hedges are an excellent source for blackberry
picking in autumn. The Warneford Orchard on the northern edge of the Meadow is over 50 years old and has rare varieties of apple
including the Russian Emperor Alexander. Owls
, bat
s and badgers are also found in the orchard.
as a whole Liam Byrne
, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
at the Department of Health
, revealed that the 'surplus' land at the Warneford Hospital was worth £30,900,000, making it their sixth most valuable immovable fixed asset (this figure may include the additional surplus land of the nearby Warneford sports field and the Park Hospital Site). OBMH plans included the use of around 50% of the Meadow for the construction of either (i) 685 student accommodation units (originally 1,950) or 300 residential units for Key worker
s (application 06/01559/OUT ENV RRW) or (ii) Healthcare, research or administration buildings not exceeding 24,500sq.m of floor space (application 06/01560/OUT ENV RRW).
The plans for development met with substantial opposition from local residents, led by nearby Residents Associations and the action group 'Friends of Warneford Meadow'. Their concerns included:
An application to have the land registered as a Town or Village Green
(under section 22 of the Commons Registration Act 1965, as amended by section 98 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
) was launched in December 2006. Recognition as a Town Green protects the land from development.
The application was successful, and Warneford Meadow was designated as a Town Green in April 2009.
However, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust stated it would challenge the decision in the High Court. The action commenced in February 2010. In March 2010, the High Court upheld the original decision to register the meadow as a Town Green.
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
immediately south-east of the Warneford Hospital
Warneford Hospital
The Warneford Hospital opened as the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum and subsequently named the Warneford Lunatic Asylum is a hospital in Oxford, England. The Warneford and the Littlemore Hospital are the major mental health hospitals serving Oxford.The hospital is in Headington two and a half miles east...
, in Headington
Headington
Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames Valley below. The life of the large residential area is centred upon London Road, the main road between London and Oxford.-History:...
, East Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Warneford Meadow is one of the few remaining wild spaces within urban Oxford, and is appreciated by the local community for its biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and tranquillity
Tranquillity
Tranquillity is the quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; serenity n. The word tranquillity appears in numerous texts ranging from the religious writings of Buddhism, where the term passaddhi refers to tranquillity of the body, thoughts and consciousness on the path to enlightenment, to an...
. The area has been used by local residents as a public space
Public space
A public space is a social space such as a town square that is open and accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, nor are the entrants...
for recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
for over 50 years .
History
Warneford Meadow was purchased in 1918 by the Warneford HospitalWarneford Hospital
The Warneford Hospital opened as the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum and subsequently named the Warneford Lunatic Asylum is a hospital in Oxford, England. The Warneford and the Littlemore Hospital are the major mental health hospitals serving Oxford.The hospital is in Headington two and a half miles east...
, a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, following the sale of the adjacent Southfield Farm . The purchase was funded by public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
subscription, with the aim of providing natural green space for the psychological benefit of patients and the local community. Archaeological trenching performed in 2006 suggested a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
or pre-roman settlement
Prehistoric Britain
For the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
, or area of pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
production, in the area of the present Meadow .
Geography
Access to the Meadow is gained from either a lane off Hill Top Road, beside the Southfield Park Golf Club, or Roosevelt Drive opposite the 'Little Oxford' housing development (beside the Headington Care Home). The Meadow slopes gradually down from the Hill Top Road end, towards the Boundary Brook, which runs between the Meadow and the Churchill HospitalChurchill Hospital
The Churchill Hospital is a teaching hospital in Oxford, England.The hospital is primarily a centre for the treatment of cancer patients, but also houses teaching facilities for Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University. It is part of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust...
to the East. Several public paths run across the Meadow. South of the Meadow is the Southfield Park Golf Club and the Meadow is bounded to the west by homes on Hill Top Road. Warneford Meadow also includes an orchard, on the northern border of the Meadow with the Warneford Hospital
Warneford Hospital
The Warneford Hospital opened as the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum and subsequently named the Warneford Lunatic Asylum is a hospital in Oxford, England. The Warneford and the Littlemore Hospital are the major mental health hospitals serving Oxford.The hospital is in Headington two and a half miles east...
.
Biodiversity
The Meadow contains many species of butterflyButterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, some rare invertebrates, and birds including skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
s and kingfishers. The Meadow forms part of the 'green corridor' which links South Park to the Thames via Boundary Brook .The Meadow's border hedges are an excellent source for blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
picking in autumn. The Warneford Orchard on the northern edge of the Meadow is over 50 years old and has rare varieties of apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
including the Russian Emperor Alexander. Owls
OWLS
OWLS is a mnemonic used by general aviation airplane pilots to assess an unprepared surface for a precautionary landing.Like all mnemonics this check has become part of aviation culture and folklore.OWLS:* Obstacles* Wind direction...
, bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s and badgers are also found in the orchard.
Bid for Development
Development of the Meadow is permitted under the present Oxford Local Plan. The Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Healthcare Trust (OBMH) put in two outline planning applications in July 2006, regarding the Meadow. The primary reason for the development, stated by the OBMH management, was the desire to generate capital for the Trust, in order to upgrade patient facilities. In answer to a parliamentary question about the assets of the United Kingdom's NHSNational Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
as a whole Liam Byrne
Liam Byrne
Liam Dominic Byrne is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill since 2004, and was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2009 to 2010 before being appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 20 January 2011.-Early...
, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
at the Department of Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
, revealed that the 'surplus' land at the Warneford Hospital was worth £30,900,000, making it their sixth most valuable immovable fixed asset (this figure may include the additional surplus land of the nearby Warneford sports field and the Park Hospital Site). OBMH plans included the use of around 50% of the Meadow for the construction of either (i) 685 student accommodation units (originally 1,950) or 300 residential units for Key worker
Key worker
A key worker is a public sector employee who is considered to provide an essential service. The term is often used in the United Kingdom in the context of those essential workers who may find it difficult to buy property in the area where they work....
s (application 06/01559/OUT ENV RRW) or (ii) Healthcare, research or administration buildings not exceeding 24,500sq.m of floor space (application 06/01560/OUT ENV RRW).
The plans for development met with substantial opposition from local residents, led by nearby Residents Associations and the action group 'Friends of Warneford Meadow'. Their concerns included:
- Loss of the Meadow's biodiversity and its benefit to the local community as a natural space.
- The high risk of damage to the remaining Meadow in the event of only 50% development.
- Lack of road infrastructure to safely or efficiently deal with increased traffic volume.
- Increased risk of flooding in local areas (e.g. Cowley Road) following development.
- The failure of the OBMH to adequately consult, or take into account, the views of local residents.
- The damage done to the nearby Boundary Brook nature corridor by development at the adjacent Churchill hospital.
- The lack of a legally binding agreement to ensure revenue from any sale would return to fund local mental health care provision.
- Whether it is appropriate to build on a 'green fieldGreenfield landGreenfield land is a term used to describe undeveloped land in a city or rural area either used for agriculture, landscape design, or left to naturally evolve...
' site when other local 'brown fieldBrown FieldBrown Field Municipal Airport is located in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, southeast of Downtown San Diego and named in honor of Commander Melville S. Brown, USN, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1936. Its primary runway is long....
' sites are available and often unused. - Whether the levels of new student accommodation proposed are actually required by local academic institutions (e.g. Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
).
An application to have the land registered as a Town or Village Green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
(under section 22 of the Commons Registration Act 1965, as amended by section 98 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is a UK Act of Parliament which came into force on 30 November 2000.As of September 2007, not all sections of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act have yet come into force...
) was launched in December 2006. Recognition as a Town Green protects the land from development.
The application was successful, and Warneford Meadow was designated as a Town Green in April 2009.
However, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust stated it would challenge the decision in the High Court. The action commenced in February 2010. In March 2010, the High Court upheld the original decision to register the meadow as a Town Green.
External links
- Friends of Warneford Meadow home page
- CPRE Oxfordshire - on Warneford Meadow
- The Open Space Society - A UK conservation society supporting the Town Green application.
- Headington News website on Warneford Meadow
- The history of the adjoining Warneford Hospital
- The OBMH - Outlining their position, as Nov 20th, 2007.
- The Oxford County Council Local Plan