Philip Pullman blasts Port Meadow buildings

Author Philip Pullman is the latest figure to criticise Oxford’s Port Meadow buildings.

Author Philip Pullman has blasted Oxford’s Port Meadow buildings, labelling them an “act of vandalism.”

The Oxford resident’s comments follow months of protests by the Campaign to Protect Port Meadow from Oxford University (CPPMOU), who want the council to revoke planning permission for the 439-bed halls of residence.

The CPPMOU claims the new buildings obscure one of Oxford’s most famous views.

The view from Port Meadow

Pullman labelled the buildings:

• A mess

• View-spoiling

• Brutal

Philip Pullman

“These buildings need to be lowered by a couple of storeys and it’s extraordinary that it has taken so long for anything to be done,” said Pullman, who used Oxford as a backdrop for parts of his The Dark Materials trilogy.

“Port Meadow has, for hundreds of years, been a place where citizens of Oxford can enjoy a view of the spires of Oxford, and suddenly these buildings have thrust their ugly heads up above the tree line and spoiled the view.