Oxfordshire County Council sets out its requirements for Oxford United’s new stadium
Oxfordshire County Council has written to Oxford United FC confirming its requirements around the development of a new stadium near Kidlington.
On 19 September the authority’s cabinet approved in principle the lease of county council owned land known as ‘the Triangle’. However, it also made clear that a future leasehold would only be signed if a number of conditions were met. These included the club securing planning permission from Cherwell District Council, the production of a net zero carbon plan, and a detailed set of proposals that show how OUFC will meet its commitments around addressing the council’s strategic priorities.
Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Dan Levy – who signed the letter jointly with the immediately previous Cabinet Member for Finance Cllr Calum Miller – said: “We’re keen to work with the club to realise the shared objective of a community stadium which everyone in Oxfordshire can be proud of, whether they’re Oxford United fans or not.
“That’s why we’ve asked OUFC to produce a clear and detailed set of proposals that show how the club will meet the commitments it’s made. We feel it’s important for the club to demonstrate these commitments separately from the planning process, particularly as a number of them exceed the statutory requirement that will be assessed during the planning process.
“In our letter we’ve also set out our requirements around a credible and fully costed net zero carbon plan for the stadium. This covers areas from clean energy and water efficiency to waste management, sustainable transport and biodiversity.
“This is a real opportunity to put net zero at the heart of the design, build and operation of the new stadium and we welcome OUFC’s stated ambition to make the stadium one of the lowest carbon in the country. We look forward to receiving the club’s plans detailing how they will achieve this.”
The letter – published today – also seeks agreement to a timetable for the club to provide regular updates to the council so that progress can be reviewed and publicly reported.
Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.