MP urges speedy government decision on new stadium

Oxford United revealed images of the proposed complex last October

An MP has called for government support for Oxford United's new stadium.

In a letter to the new Secretary of State for Housing, Community and Local Government Steve Reed, Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds outlined several reasons he should support the planning application.

Among them is that the lease at its current home, the Kassam Stadium, expires next year and the owner wants to redevelop the land.

Cherwell District Council's planning committee approved plans for a 16,000-capacity venue on land known as the Triangle, near Kidlington, last month.

The planning application has been referred to the Secretary of State as it goes against the district council's development plan and is on the green belt.

In her letter, which is co-signed by Banbury MP Sean Wilcock, Dodds said it was "critical that OUFC gets through the next stage of its journey" and that it "cannot afford further delays".

"Even aside from this impending deadline, the current stadium is used by the club on a restricted lease basis, by the number of games," Dodds writes, adding that the women's team has to play elsewhere despite its success.

She goes on to say that issues relating to the current stadium "would have been ameliorated had the government's Football Act been in place", which gives the independent football regulator powers to perform stronger tests to stop rogue owners.

The complex is expected to include a 180-bed hotel, restaurant, conference centre and community plaza.

Dodds called the club "a critical source of pride for Oxford and Oxfordshire as well as contributing massively to our local economy".

"If the plans are not approved speedily by the Secretary of State, all of this is at risk, given the impending danger of the end of the current lease (never mind its unsuitability)," she adds.

The government has been contacted for a comment.