Plans for the club’s new ground are now the target of a local community campaign looking to protect woodlands.
Friends of Stratfield Brake are demanding Cherwell District Council explain how the fate of the local beauty spot has been properly considered in the wake of green-lighting a 16,000 capacity stadium for Oxford United. The development would also include a hotel, restaurant and conference centre.
Natural England has advised a precautionary approach to planning approval until the age of the woodlands is properly determined. Currently, evidence as to whether the trees can be considered ancient is inconclusive, but if this were the case it would have significant implications for any construction project in the vicinity.
A challenge has also been put forward based on the council’s analysis of traffic flow and management on match days, and specifically road closures. Critics argue there is no basis for the assumption that temporary measures to control vehicles can be removed quickly after crowds and cars are dispersed.
Although a spokesperson for Cherwell Council told ITV News that the authority was ‘confident in its decision’ and is willing to ‘robustly defend’ this in the event of any judicial review. However, a representative from the Friends of Stratfield Brake emphasised that the group does not feel as though concerns have been addressed.
‘We have engaged with the council throughout this process and made our concerns clear at every stage, including through formal legal correspondence. Unfortunately, those concerns have not been addressed, leaving us with no option but to bring this judicial review,’ the said in an interview with ITV. ‘We believe the decision is flawed and that the impacts of this development on the adjacent woodland and transport have not been properly considered.’
Image: Peter Glaser / Unsplash
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