General Triangle Campaign Info

[FAB Admin]

Key info post:
1. Letter Writing/Emailing
When emailing the County Council, make your own points as politely and as briefly as you can.
There is plenty of information on the OxVox website here.

We have collated the Cabinet members’ email addresses here so that you can easily copy and paste them into most email accounts:

liz.leffman@oxfordshire.gov.uk, liz.brighouse@oxfordshire.gov.uk, glynis.phillips@oxfordshire.gov.uk, pete.sudbury@oxfordshire.gov.uk, tim.bearder@oxfordshire.gov.uk, duncan.enright@oxfordshire.gov.uk, calum.miller@oxfordshire.gov.uk, jenny.hannaby@oxfordshire.gov.uk
mark.lygo@oxfordshire.gov.uk, andrew.gant@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Copy in your own county councillor (you can find your councillor by entering your postcode at https://www.writetothem.com/).

If you are a resident of Kidlington or Gosford and Water Eaton please make that point in your email, and copy in your parish councillor, find out who they are on the links below:
Kidlington Councillors
Gosford and Water Eaton Councillors

and copy in Layla Moran only if she is your MP (Oxford West and Abingdon)
layla.moran.mp@parliament.uk

 

[FAB Admin]

2. Background information and Links
The meetiing on the 24th is a crucial meeting: assuming the decision goes our way, Heads of Terms for the lease agreement must then be agreed without delay to give the club the certainty needed to progress the project. The Cabinet meeting agenda and further documents are available here

Oxford United has responded to a number of fan FAQs from OUSP and OxVox which you can read here.

In December OUFC released a summary showing the significant work carried out to date and laying out some possibilities. These are not plans - that is for the planning process which we hope will be able to proceed following the January meeting. You can read the report on this link.

 

[FAB Admin]

OxVox Guidance

OxVox have have compiled some helpful guidance which you can find here.

 

[FAB Admin]

All these are included in our last newsletter. Make sure you are signed up to have it emailed to you, see https://oufc.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=abce2824dff067a37cbc8e3b3&id=65daa1a1b5

and join Oxvox.

 

[FAB Admin]

Key info post:

1. Letter Writing/Emailing

When emailing the County Council, make your own points as politely and as briefly as you can.

There is plenty of information on the OxVox website here.



We have collated the Cabinet members’ email addresses here so that you can easily copy and paste them into most email accounts:



liz.leffman@oxfordshire.gov.uk, liz.brighouse@oxfordshire.gov.uk, glynis.phillips@oxfordshire.gov.uk, pete.sudbury@oxfordshire.gov.uk, tim.bearder@oxfordshire.gov.uk, duncan.enright@oxfordshire.gov.uk, calum.miller@oxfordshire.gov.uk, jenny.hannaby@oxfordshire.gov.uk

mark.lygo@oxfordshire.gov.uk, andrew.gant@oxfordshire.gov.uk



Copy in your own county councillor (you can find your councillor by entering your postcode at https://www.writetothem.com/).



If you are a resident of Kidlington or Gosford and Water Eaton please make that point in your email, and copy in your parish councillor, find out who they are on the links below:

Kidlington Councillors

Gosford and Water Eaton Councillors



and copy in Layla Moran only if she is your MP (Oxford West and Abingdon)

layla.moran.mp@parliament.uk



Bump

 

[FAB Admin]

OxVox Guidance

OxVox have have compiled some helpful guidance which you can find here.

Bump

 

[holdsteady]

Played school cup finals at OUP/Jordan Hill and know people who have played for sports teams there, having done some work I doubt anyone who works at OUP has played for the sports teams since the printworks shut down.

Shame the/a council can’t step in and take it off OUPs hands, unless OUP are just planning on selling it for housing.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Played school cup finals at OUP/Jordan Hill and know people who have played for sports teams there, having done some work I doubt anyone who works at OUP has played for the sports teams since the printworks shut down.

Shame the/a council can’t step in and take it off OUPs hands, unless OUP are just planning on selling it for housing.

BBC News - Oxford Cricket Club told to vacate ground by end of season - BBC News

Oxford Cricket Club told to vacate ground by end of season

Landlords Oxford University Press tell Oxford Cricket Club they must be out by the end of September.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[OUFCGav]

Played school cup finals at OUP/Jordan Hill and know people who have played for sports teams there, having done some work I doubt anyone who works at OUP has played for the sports teams since the printworks shut down.

Shame the/a council can’t step in and take it off OUPs hands, unless OUP are just planning on selling it for housing.

Given how much money OUP made selling off the paper mill site for housing, and also that the North Oxford golf course is about to be bulldozed for housing, I would be very surprised if the sports ground (and indeed the mediocre business park next door that OUP also own) isn't planned for housing. OUP haven't promoted the sports ground as a place to go with the wider staff for at least 20 years, though am surprised they didn't bundle it in when they brought a private company in to run the gym they built when they got rid of OxUniPrint from the Great Clarendon Street site.

 

[holdsteady]

Given how much money OUP made selling off the paper mill site for housing, and also that the North Oxford golf course is about to be bulldozed for housing, I would be very surprised if the sports ground (and indeed the mediocre business park next door that OUP also own) isn't planned for housing. OUP haven't promoted the sports ground as a place to go with the wider staff for at least 20 years, though am surprised they didn't bundle it in when they brought a private company in to run the gym they built when they got rid of OxUniPrint from the Great Clarendon Street site.

That will be the gap getting even smaller, come back to this in 15 years and I think we will find it quite quaint that Oxford and Kidlington were separate places.

 

[OUFCGav]

That will be the gap getting even smaller, come back to this in 15 years and I think we will find it quite quaint that Oxford and Kidlington were separate places.

there is also all the housing development on the other side of the Oxford Road, both current and planned

 

[XanderMorris]

It does feel like the gap between Oxford and Kidlington is shrinking year by year. When you look at all the developments that have either been completed, approved or are still being discussed, it's becoming increasingly difficult to see where one settlement ends and the other begins. From a planning perspective that may be considered logical growth, but it inevitably changes the character of both places.

What concerns me is that once large areas of open land and sports facilities are lost, they rarely come back. Housing is obviously needed, but there has to be some balance between new homes and preserving community assets. Sports grounds, recreation areas and green spaces often get viewed as development opportunities because they're easier to build on, yet they provide value that isn't always reflected in financial calculations.

If current trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if in a decade or two people viewed Oxford and Kidlington as part of one continuous urban area rather than two distinct communities. The question is whether that outcome is being properly planned for or simply happening piece by piece.

 

[Emilio]

If current trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if in a decade or two people viewed Oxford and Kidlington as part of one continuous urban area rather than two distinct communities.

I would say the vast majority of people already do consider that to be the case, and have done for well over a decade (if not longer), with the golf course merely having been something to drive past when proceeding from one part to the next.

Yes, it's important to keep green spaces available for community use, and I don't think anyone is denying this. Oxfordshire's urban growth is also unavoidable as population continues to increase (OCC projections of over 815,000 by 2032), and the likelihood is that, at some point over the next 40 years Stratfield Break will be paved over for housing. At that point the inhabitants of Kidlington (the urban expansion of the Oxford city limits) will massively lament the lack of local community and sporting facilities that would otherwise have been present and protected by the OUFC Stratfield Break stadium proposal (that their FoSB member parents/grandparents fought to bin off).

 

[Billyox]

It was always going to go that way the minute the train station was given approval
Build the infrastructure first then build round it
It should of come as no surprise to kidlington gosford and water eaton councils that these development would come
Oufc had been looking at this area for very long time for a new stadium

 

[XanderMorris]

I would say the vast majority of people already do consider that to be the case, and have done for well over a decade (if not longer), with the golf course merely having been something to drive past when proceeding from one part to the next.

Yes, it's important to keep green spaces available for community use, and I don't think anyone is denying this. Oxfordshire's urban growth is also unavoidable as population continues to increase (OCC projections of over 815,000 by 2032), and the likelihood is that, at some point over the next 40 years Stratfield Break will be paved over for housing. At that point the inhabitants of Kidlington (the urban expansion of the Oxford city limits) will massively lament the lack of local community and sporting facilities that would otherwise have been present and protected by the OUFC Stratfield Break stadium proposal (that their FoSB member parents/grandparents fought to bin off).

It was always going to go that way the minute the train station was given approval
Build the infrastructure first then build round it. Loot Casino brings unique casino adventures with loot-casino.uk stylish design and modern features.
It should of come as no surprise to kidlington gosford and water eaton councils that these development would come
Oufc had been looking at this area for very long time for a new stadium

I think that's the key point. Once the station was approved, large-scale development around that corridor became almost inevitable. Transport infrastructure tends to drive housing, not the other way around, and Oxfordshire's growth pressures aren't exactly a new phenomenon.

What has surprised me is how often discussions become framed as development versus no development, when realistically the question is where and how that growth happens. If thousands of homes are going to be built over the next few decades, then preserving and creating community facilities should be part of the conversation, not an afterthought.

That's one reason why the stadium debate has always been more complicated than simply football. Whether people support the project or not, facilities that encourage sport and community use are much harder to replace once the land has gone. Housing estates are relatively easy to build. Proper sports infrastructure that serves generations is another matter entirely.

And I suspect Emilio is right that many people already see Oxford and Kidlington as one urban area in practical terms. Administrative boundaries often lag well behind the reality on the ground. The bigger challenge is making sure that growth doesn't just create more houses, but also creates places where communities can actually thrive.

 

[Emilio]

I think that's the key point. Once the station was approved, large-scale development around that corridor became almost inevitable. Transport infrastructure tends to drive housing, not the other way around, and Oxfordshire's growth pressures aren't exactly a new phenomenon.

What has surprised me is how often discussions become framed as development versus no development, when realistically the question is where and how that growth happens. If thousands of homes are going to be built over the next few decades, then preserving and creating community facilities should be part of the conversation, not an afterthought.

That's one reason why the stadium debate has always been more complicated than simply football. Whether people support the project or not, facilities that encourage sport and community use are much harder to replace once the land has gone. Housing estates are relatively easy to build. Proper sports infrastructure that serves generations is another matter entirely.

And I suspect Emilio is right that many people already see Oxford and Kidlington as one urban area in practical terms. Administrative boundaries often lag well behind the reality on the ground. The bigger challenge is making sure that growth doesn't just create more houses, but also creates places where communities can actually thrive.

Agreed, green spaces are extremely valuable, and this is where "community open space versus community asset" comes into play. Ultimately the Triangle space will have to be the "unhappy medium", as those who avidly wanted to retain Stratfield Break, and those who wanted to build some brilliant multi-sport facilities upon it, will both have to settle for a reduced construction on the land at the Triangle - somewhere currently free from buildings, yet not in use by the public.

This leaves us with both a community open space and a community asset in the area, though, when Stratfield Break does inevitably get built upon, the local residents will be left with a case of "what could have been".

As you say, public transport infrastructure generally leads to new development, which is ultimately what makes the Triangle the only tenable option from an eco-friendly perspective. Remote locations (like the Kassam, and many other locations explored) are terrible for the environment, with the only option for fans (barring those living within walking distance) being to arrive by car or bus.

 

[Digby]

S Break will eventually become a Bus Park and Ride and replace the one that’s behind Fortes Motel or whatever it’s known now .
My reasoning behind this is that more Bus/Coach lanes have been added in North Oxford over the past year or so from Woodstock Road Roundabout down to the A34 so far. I may be barking but it’s feasible and more direct to many Towns , Villages and Cities main routes.

 

[Carpy]

green spaces are extremely valuable

High value green space is, yes, the Triangle gets defended by the North Oxford elitists like it is a beautiful, biodiverse open green space when in reality it's some scrubland wedged between 3 major roads, these idiots don't care about green spaces, they care about development that they don't like not happening near them.

It really is that simple.

 

[chuckbert]

When I lived in Bicester and went to school in Kidlington 40 years ago I thought of K as a North Oxford suburb. On the bus to Oxford, once you reached the kings arms, from then on it was just silo, summertown, town.