New Stadium Plans - The Triangle - Planning

[Manorlounger]

Excellent points Colin. Do you believe that the council may step in and start working on Oxford Road, ie widening paths, cycle lanes, bus / taxi lanes, underpasses, bridges, station exits etc, but this is all dependent on OUFC actually gaining planning permission first? With this all being outside the clubs plot of land I can't see how the club can commit to any of this, but once the stadium is absolutely confirmed following planning permission surely these possibilities can open up?

Everything will be discussed with the OCC highways department. In fact, discussions are already taking place as per OCC Cabinet requirements for the lease to take place. That will be a broad and open discussion with all aspects of how to move people safely and with the minimum of disruption to road users in general. The various transportation entities involved will also have discussions and our input is needed. Any and all ideas, however outlandish some may seem, will be considered. It makes perfect sense to do so. What one person considers madness, another genius.

 

[Osei Yaw]

Yeah I did see it, still shaking my head in disgust.

Sorry to hear that.

I'm sure Holdsteady didn't mean to cause you Trouble.

 

[Marked Ox]

This Northener on Northener hatred must stop.

Just wait until they start racing their whippets then it'll get really serious.

 

[Marked Ox]

No, the track doesn't allow it, the only way from Bicester Village is towards London, the track doesn't curve northwards. If you wanted to connect northwards, you'd have to demolish Wickes to find the space.

A price worth paying.

 

[Wallop]

I have just been to the exhibition which was very interesting. This was the car that I parked next to..........they're hiding in the bushes.

 

[n1]

You don't need "Premier League specification lighting" to do a light show. Colour change LEDs have nothing to do with the performance of the pitch floodlights. That seems a strange, and shortsighted, comment from the architect.

I speak as somebody that ran an exterior lighting company for many years.

Any insight @Colin B as to whether they will include the ability to use the lights in this way? Seems pretty standard to include it in modern stadiums. Its quite a powerful way of creating a spectacle in conjunction with the big screens and something I would hate us to miss out on. The whole match day experience could be superb if we get this right.

 

[Foley]

I agree with this.

Also, IM continues to use this from the EIA Scoping document submitted to CDC by the club:

8.53 The football stadium is likely to be at capacity two days per week, one weekday and one weekend, outside of the peak highway periods and only for a limited time prior to kick off and at the end of the match.

It’s a massive oversight and error from the club and the opposition are using this as ‘proof’ of the scale of the problem. It’s mighty hard to argue when the club’s team itself has given them the ammo.

I see what you are saying, but surely it usnt that hard to argue?
What 26 to 28 home games a season of high numbers
Then the women's team ( 2000 is crowds possible) and the occasional youth team game maybe Oxfordshire Cup Final.
So 'at capacity' what 20 to 26 games a season seems to me once every 2 weeks

 

[LeftSideLarry]

I see what you are saying, but surely it usnt that hard to argue?
What 26 to 28 home games a season of high numbers
Then the women's team ( 2000 is crowds possible) and the occasional youth team game maybe Oxfordshire Cup Final.
So 'at capacity' what 20 to 26 games a season seems to me once every 2 weeks

Sure, on that basis it is.

Now we all know, other than men’s first team matches, that those things won’t have enough footfall to trouble the traffic marshals, but the local people don’t know that.

Next, add in the scaremongering about concerts and other major events.

You may think it’s easy to argue against, but the club have given those most against it a lovely piece of proof of the real intentions for The Triangle.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

We'll probably end up with a good number of norther away fans walking through Bicester town on a Saturday as they change over. Could be good for business at a time that is typically quiet

Well I hope they arrive prepared, as I’ll be waiting for them on Sheep Street, in my pants, ready to perform a haka.

 

[Colin B]

Excellent points Colin. Do you believe that the council may step in and start working on Oxford Road, ie widening paths, cycle lanes, bus / taxi lanes, underpasses, bridges, station exits etc, but this is all dependent on OUFC actually gaining planning permission first? With this all being outside the clubs plot of land I can't see how the club can commit to any of this, but once the stadium is absolutely confirmed following planning permission surely these possibilities can open up?

As @Manorlounger has already said, these discussions are already taking place with the relevant bodies. As much as Ian Middleton and his chums would like to spin it, it is not up to Oxford United Football Club to dictate what happens on the public highways. But it should be a collaborative process.

Part of my concern is that the club haven't been pro-active enough in terms of getting ahead of the wave on this, and you only have to read the nonsense from the TVP scoping response to see how outdated attitudes to football crowds can put us on the backfoot, with the anti stadium brigade latching on to it. These are the things where I feel the club's advisors should be earning their considerable fees, and at the moment I'm frustrated that they seem to have handed the anti stadium people a stick with which to beat us with. None of these things should come as a surprise to seasoned stadium design professionals, so I'm perplexed by why we find ourselves in this avoidable situation.

 

[Marked Ox]

Sure, on that basis it is.

Now we all know, other than men’s first team matches, that those things won’t have enough footfall to trouble the traffic marshals, but the local people don’t know that.

Next, add in the scaremongering about concerts and other major events.

You may think it’s easy to argue against, but the club have given those most against it a lovely piece of proof of the real intentions for The Triangle.

The women's team may get a thousands in the future (it would be quite a while I'd suggest if it happens) but currently it is low hundreds so their games aren't an issue and easily explained. As is the other stuff by showing real world figures, for example like at Brighton.

I agree that the club need to be proactive on this though.

 

[LeftSideLarry]

The women's team may get a thousands in the future (it would be quite a while I'd suggest if it happens) but currently it is low hundreds so their games aren't an issue and easily explained. As is the other stuff by showing real world figures, for example like at Brighton.

I agree that the club need to be proactive on this though.

That’s all true.

But the club has told them the opposite is true.

 

[SteMerritt]

Well I hope they arrive prepared, as I’ll be waiting for them on Sheep Street, in my pants, ready to perform a haka.

Traditional Sheep Street welcome.

 

[WuTang]

Everything will be discussed with the OCC highways department. In fact, discussions are already taking place as per OCC Cabinet requirements for the lease to take place. That will be a broad and open discussion with all aspects of how to move people safely and with the minimum of disruption to road users in general. The various transportation entities involved will also have discussions and our input is needed. Any and all ideas, however outlandish some may seem, will be considered. It makes perfect sense to do so. What one person considers madness, another genius.

Hear me out...

 

[MJB]

Hear me out...

View attachment 16230

 

[unification]

Hear me out...

View attachment 16230

If not that, a potential Plan B for access from Parkway carpark ... ?

 

[Manorlounger]

As @Manorlounger has already said, these discussions are already taking place with the relevant bodies. As much as Ian Middleton and his chums would like to spin it, it is not up to Oxford United Football Club to dictate what happens on the public highways. But it should be a collaborative process.

Part of my concern is that the club haven't been pro-active enough in terms of getting ahead of the wave on this, and you only have to read the nonsense from the TVP scoping response to see how outdated attitudes to football crowds can put us on the backfoot, with the anti stadium brigade latching on to it. These are the things where I feel the club's advisors should be earning their considerable fees, and at the moment I'm frustrated that they seem to have handed the anti stadium people a stick with which to beat us with. None of these things should come as a surprise to seasoned stadium design professionals, so I'm perplexed by why we find ourselves in this avoidable situation.

I am not keen to say this @Colin B but, I got the impression from our visit to the exhibition and the various discussions that, communication between club, architect and others of the planning team may not have been as comprehensive and as informative as maybe could have been. I may be wrong but, the feedback I got regarding hospitality was not totally reassuring and the conversation regarding the transport/road closure issue left me with the impression that a lot of the detail had not been completed. Of course, these are early days and that's why the team want our feedback so it's good that there are so many ideas being put forward. I keep repeating myself but, it is imperative that all these ideas reach the team.

Something else, unrelated but all the same, of interest, our dear friend Mrs McIvor has visited the exhibition. Apparently, spoke to no-one and asked no questions. Had a look around and left again.

 

[Manorlounger]

Hear me out...

View attachment 16230

I like it!!

 

[Carpy]

How much do you think an underpass will cost? How many years of our relatively modest income will it take to pay off just this underpass? Who owns the land where this underpass is going to be built? How much upheaval will building it cause? We have no permission to be build an underpass on this land so that is years of more planning etc.

I think those who are saying just build an underpass or bridge are massively oversimplifying it, we have been given, planning permission permitting, a piece of land to build a football stadium on, nothing has been said about digging tunnels from that bit of land to other bits of land, its just not that easy.

No oversimplification at all, but we've shown our cards too early in my opinion, as soon as we got the go-ahead on the land, we switched from a bridge to road closures, it wouldn't take much to suggest the club was just paying lip service to the issue until it got the go ahead.

Road closures are a hard sell, maybe the authorities will insist upon it for safety grounds, but then that is their suggestion, not the clubs.

 

[GeneralLee]

How much cost would an underpass add to a £100M project? We aren't ever paying off £100M with our relatively modest income as it stands...

Relax!

The Championship Play-Off Final is a game purported to be worth £250m to the winner. In a couple of years it'll be paid off before the stadium is even finished.

We'll be fine.