Green light for Oxford United’s stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, October 22^nd, 2025

Image: Oxford United FC

EFL Championship club Oxford United has been given the go-ahead to push ahead with development of its new stadium.

The club received confirmation that the UK Government has decided not to call in the club’s new stadium planning application for its own determination and is content for it to be determined by the local planning authority.

Oxford United said the Housing, Communities and Local Government department stated in its letter that “the Article 31 Direction issued pursuant to the Secretary of State’s letter of 11 September is hereby withdrawn.”

Grant Ferguson, Chairman of Oxford United, said: “The government review was conducted after Cherwell District Council’s Planning Committee approved the plans on 14 August.

“The Secretary of State’s decision to not to call in the planning application for our 16,000-capacity stadium on land north of the city means the Club can now begin to deliver on its vision.

“On behalf of everyone at Oxford United, I would like to thank all of our supporters, along with the incredible project team who have been instrumental in getting us to this point.”

Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club based in Oxford, England (UK). The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football.

The 16,000-capacity New Oxford United Stadium is a proposed multipurpose stadium to be built in Kidlington, Oxfordshire (UK).

It will become the new home of the EFL Championship club Oxford United F.C. replacing the club’s current home, the Kassam Stadium, where they have played since 2001.

Oxford United’s ‘Triangle’ venue plans involve building a new 16,000-capacity state-of-the-art stadium on a site known as ‘The Triangle’ near Kidlington which includes plans for a hotel, restaurant, conference center, and community facilities.

Oxford United currently play at the 12,500-capacity Kassam Stadium which is named after the ground’s Owner and the former Chairman of the football club Firoz Kassam.

Once the Section 106 Agreement that sets out financial contributions by the Club to infrastructure improvements is finalised, the application decision can then be issued by Cherwell District Council.

The club last year announced its plans to build the first stadium in England powered solely by electricity to create a sustainable new home. The club will use a low-carbon energy supply to create an ‘all electric’ stadium, with power also generated by solar panels.

The proposed stadium at the Triangle, near Kidlington in Oxford, would not use any high carbon intensity fossil fuels such as gas. Annually, electricity is now a cleaner fuel than natural gas.

Renewable energy sources, including 3000m² of solar panels on the roof, along with energy efficiency measures would achieve radical carbon emission reductions. The solar panels would generate enough energy to boil around 3 million 3-litre kettles per year.

Modern building fabric design and heat recovery solutions would also be used to maximise thermal efficiency.

The use of another low-carbon energy technology, air source heat pumps, as the development’s primary heat source would provide an estimated 80% reduction in CO2 emissions per year when compared to gas boilers, when aggregated over the year.

The stadium would also include drainage systems, rain storage and recycling solutions to re-use rainwater, while plans to enhance biodiversity on the land at the Triangle would achieve a significant net gain.

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