The future of the Kassam Stadium
Oxford United's move to Kidlington is a step closer after yesterday's decision
Oxford United will be sold land at the Triangle in Kidlington for a new stadium.
But it will need to meet stringent conditions set by Oxfordshire County Council, which will lease the land to the football club.
It will need to get planning permission from Cherwell District Council and produce a net-zero plan that is "fully costed" with "clear timescales" about the stadium’s design, construction and operation.
The decision has, inevitably, been widely reported. There will be lots more news about the forthcoming planning application before the stadium (hopefully) opens in time for the 2026/27 season.
But what about the Kassam Stadium?
There had been some speculation that a charity asking to use the Triangle last week was a last-ditch attempt by the city council to keep Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.
It was not.
Oxford City Council has allocated the Kassam Stadium site for potential housing for years.
It allocated the stadium site and the car park next to it in its current Local Plan, which was published in 2020. That plan outlines where it wants development to take place until 2036.
The stadium and car park are owned by Firoka, a company run by Oxford United’s former owner Firoz Kassam. The car park used to be owned by the city council - but it said on Wednesday that it doesn’t own it now.*
The stadium has also been included as a provisional site in an updated plan the city council is currently working on. That will be for development until 2040.
As part of the current Local Plan, the city council said planning permission would be given for “residential-led development” (read: homes) and public open space on the Kassam Stadium sites.
At least 150 homes should be delivered there, the authority said.
But the city council also considered that homes could be built in the stadium’s corners. (That would not be unprecedented: Leyton Orient, for example, has flats in the corners of its Brisbane Road ground.)
Any housing at (or on) the Kassam Stadium would sit close to another 3,000 homes that will be built on land south of Grenoble Road. That is in South Oxfordshire District Council’s current Local Plan.
The city council, Thames Water and Magdalen College, Oxford, share ownership of that site. The development is currently known as the South Oxford Science Village.
Don’t be surprised if once Oxford United have left, people eventually end up living on what is now the Kassam Stadium.
A planning application to knock down a former bingo hall at the Ozone Leisure Park next to the stadium and build a new life sciences building is still awaiting a decision from Oxford City Council. The hall is also owned by Firoka.
*In the original version of this post, I said the city council owns the car park.
RAAC concrete found at Oxford hospital site
Health managers were told RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) has been found at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.
But it is in an area not used to treat patients, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) heard yesterday.
BOB ICB’s interim chief executive Nick Broughton said: “In relation to the concrete issue, this is an ongoing piece of work.
“It does appear as things stand that there is only one of our acute hospitals that is affected by this concrete and that’s a non-clinical space but there are ongoing searches and we will keep the board up to date.”
Buildings and work at Oxford North approved
The next tranche of buildings at the Oxford North development were approved by Oxford councillors yesterday.
Building work started at the site near Wolvercote in August 2021.
It is being led by Oxford North Ventures, which is ultimately owned by St John's College, Oxford, and two other companies.
Oxford North will be a new “life sciences district" on land near the A34, A40 and A44.
Separately, Oxford City Council said it has bought 111 homes at Oxford North's Canalside development.
Of those, 89 will be available for social rent and 22 will be available on a shared ownership basis.
The council’s cabinet member for housing, Linda Smith, said the development is a “major boost”.
Finally an article in the local press about OUFC that is well researched, accurate and understands the actual situation the club finds itself in.