NHS to fight meadow building ban

The hospital will cost more to renovate because it is a listed building

An NHS trust is to attempt to overturn a decision designating land it owns in Oxfordshire as a town green.

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust want to sell Warneford Meadow, Oxford, to developers to raise £20m to help renovate hospital wards.

The meadowland was given the status of town green in April, protecting the land from development, following a public inquiry and residents' campaign.

Friends of Warneford Meadow said they would fight any attempts to develop it.

About one in four people experience mental health problems during their lifetime - we could even end up helping some of those who object to this plan Chief executive Julie Waldron

The NHS trust said selling off its land was "a last resort" but it had to prioritise the needs of its patients.

It said it needed the sale proceeds to renovate its 19th Century hospital wards in a listed building in Headington, Oxford.

Chief executive Julie Waldron said: "We cannot let the wishes of residents in three streets in Headington stand in the way of improving services for the whole population of Oxfordshire.

"About one in four people experience mental health problems during their lifetime - we could even end up helping some of those who object to this plan."

Chris Dunabin, a spokesman for The Friends of Warneford Meadow, said: "It is not just the wishes of residents in three streets either - the decision to protect the land was made by an eminent independent inspector at a public inquiry lasting 15 days."

Oxfordshire County Council said it had received notification of the trust's intention to challenge the town green status and was seeking legal advice.