Legal challenge to Oxford Utd stadium plan launched

A legal challenge to the decision to grant Oxford United's permission to build a new 16,000-seater stadium has been lodged with the High Court.

The club's plans to build the new venue on land known as the Triangle, near Kidlington, were approved by Cherwell District Council and the government last year.

Oxford United say the new stadium provides a "once-in-a-generation opportunity", and has suggested that the club's future could be in jeopardy were the ground not to be built.

But campaign group Friends of Stratfield Brake (FoSB) has persistently opposed the plans throughout the process, and has now taken its complaints to the High Court by attempting to launch a judicial review.

The group has lodged the legal complaint over the new ground's potential impact on local wildlife and aspects of the planned road closures.

A spokesperson for FoSB said the decision to grant the stadium planning permission had been "flawed".

"The impacts of this development on the adjacent woodland and transport have not been properly considered," they added.

Ricardo Gama, from the law firm Leigh Day is representing the group, and said his clients "felt they had no choice but to file court proceedings".

"They look forward to putting their arguments to a judge," he added.

The campaign group has now launched judicial review proceedings in the High Court, having previously launched a fundraiser to cover the legal costs of the appeal.

Oxford United has yet to respond to a BBC request for comment, but referencing the threat of a judicial review earlier this year, chairman Grant Ferguson said there were "different avenues" the club could take to fight the potential legal challenge.

He said: "We will make that decision when we really understand what the merits of the case are, or lack thereof, and how a court is likely to respond to it."

"We are pretty comfortable that we are ahead of the curve," he added.

The BBC has also contacted Cherwell District Council for a comment.

Any interested party in English planning decisions can challenge a verdict in the High Court via a judicial review.

This can only analyse the legality of the process through which a decision was reached by a planning body, and is not concerned with the conclusions of that process and whether those were 'right'.

In launching proceedings, FoSB are arguing that Cherwell District Council acted unlawfully in approving the development on green belt land.

The group must now gain permission from a High Court judge for their case to be heard.

If successful, a hearing would take place at the Royal Courts of Justice with the points of law argued by both sides before the judge comes to a verdict.

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.