LETTER : High art in landscape design

Sir: Parts of our landscape are works of high art, including many of our urban parks (report, 4 September; letter, 11 September). For instance, the carefully designed Royal Parks of central London made their contribution to the emotional force of the Princess of Wales's funeral procession. The cortege, following William III's route from Kensington Palace to Whitehall, passed successively along landscapes composed by Bridgeman (c1726-37), Decimus Burton (1823-29), Sir Aston Webb (1905), Mollett (1660), John Nash (1827) and finally to Whitehall through William Kent's Horse Guards arch (1740).

The Lottery's contribution to the creation and conservation of fine landscapes deserves acknowledgement, for support is being given to several examples of the art of landscape design. However, landscape is an area which particularly highlights a weakness in the Lottery's terms of reference. Support for the upkeep of worthwhile creations and activities is not eligible for grant. Because the art of landscape design is concerned with human creativity through the agency of the living surface of the planet, finance for continuing upkeep is as important to quality as imaginative opening initiatives.

HAL MOGGRIDGE

Chairman

The Landscape Foundation

London EC1