IT REMAINS unclear if the city council has taken enforcement action to restore an empty pub once enjoyed by Oxford United fans to its former glory.

The Priory, just a short walk away from the Kassam Stadium, has stood empty since June 2013 and is now considered to be ‘at risk’.

It is owned by Oxford City Council but has been leased out for 99 years to Firoka, former Oxford United owner Firoz Kassam's company.

It owns the stadium and the nearby Ozone Leisure Park.

Firoka is still advertising the site to potential suitors, despite it seemingly lying in a sorry state.

The city council said it was going to take enforcement action against Firoka to improve the Grade II listed building last year.

Oxford Mail:

But despite repeated attempts to find out whether that has been done and what it might have involved over recent weeks, the council has given no reply.

Firoka's advertisement is placed on the Propertylink website and states: “The Kassam Stadium is ideally position (sic) alongside the Oxford Science Park on the Eastern by-pass of the Oxford Ring Road.

“We are the largest venue for conferences, exhibitions, meetings and leisure in Oxford.

“We are the home of Oxford United Football Club and attract over 1 million visitors a year and provide over 2,000 parking spaces.”

READ AGAIN: When the Priory pub 'closed suddenly'

Last March, Firoka said it had ‘never’ agreed to repair the building and asked for planning conditions to repair it to be scrapped.

The council refused in May. It said Firoka was told it would need to fix it when it was given planning permission for a hotel in 2005. Conditions were amended in 2015.

Oxford Mail:

Last year, the authority had been urged to act to ensure The Priory was restored.

Oxford Civic Society said had Firoka’s application of March 2018 been approved, it would have ‘rewarded neglect’.

The Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society said Firoka had acted ‘disingenuously’ claiming it had no responsibility to restore the building.

Littlemore Parish Council said it had ‘expressed concern about The Priory for some years' and was 'even more worried...it is no longer in use and subject to serious neglect’.

Last September, Mr Kassam said his relationship with the football club had hit an 'all time low'.

He made the assessment after the club's owner Sumrith 'Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth and managing director Niall McWilliams said they were looking at potential sites for new stadiums because of poor relations with Firoka.

Club manager Karl Robinson added his players 'hated' the stadium.