OXFORD United’s search for a new stadium has taken its next step after councillors agreed what a second stage of public engagement will look like.
United are looking to build a new ground at ‘The Triangle’, south of Kidlington Roundabout, with the club’s licence agreement at the Kassam Stadium running out in 2026.
Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet this afternoon set out the final arrangements for a second phase of engagement with the public.
Expected to run between June 5 and July 23, it will see roadshow-style ‘listening’ events open to the general public, taking place in Kidlington, Cutteslowe, Wolvercote and Oxford city centre.
There will also be the opportunity to provide feedback using an online form. Emails and letters will be accepted too.
Calum Miller, the county council’s cabinet member for finance, said at the meeting: “We’ve always said we’d conduct this process in an open and transparent manner, so this report is part of that ongoing process, to make sure cabinet members are appraised to work that’s been going on with stakeholders.
“I can report that over the last month and a bit, 10 meetings have been held and recorded in this report, and two have taken place since this report was prepared.
“The intention here is to have early stage engagement with a number of identified stakeholders, to give them the opportunity to share us with their views on the emerging proposals.
“They’ve been rich conversations I and other cabinet members have joined, along with officers.”
On September 19, the county council’s cabinet will decide whether or not to lease or sell land at The Triangle to the U’s.
“The timeline that we adopted at a previous cabinet meeting is contingent on receiving high-quality information from Oxford United, that will allow us to engage in an informed way with stakeholders and members of the public,” said Miller.
“I’m optimistic that material will be received by the time set out here.
“It’s really important as I’m sure you will all agree that the engagement exercise and indeed our subsequent cabinet decision-making is based on high-quality information, which allows us to make an informed and reasonable decision.
“I’m very grateful to the club for the work they’re doing and look forward very much to receiving information of that quality which will allow engagement to proceed as planned.”
Once United publish their proposals and information relating to how a series of strategic priorities will be addressed, the second phase of stakeholder and public engagement will take place.
The first phase of stakeholder engagement activities began on April 13 and came to an end on Friday.
A council report published last week addressed ‘emerging findings’ from meetings between April 13 and May 3.
Among the findings, the report states that The Triangle is a ‘great location in terms of transport links’ and that people with disabilities are limited by the current travel options for the Kassam.
The council document noted that ‘the opportunity to arrive by public transport at the new stadium would provide greater accessibility’.
The report does however say that more information is needed from the club about ‘improved infrastructure and what that will look like in terms of facilitating public transport’.
Planning permission for a new stadium would be required from Cherwell District Council, as the local planning authority.
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