OXFORD City Council is certainly pulling out all the stops in its battle to prevent Oxford Stadium being pulled down and replaced by houses.

Next week it looks likely to put the stadium on its Heritage Asset Register as a further level of protection to thwart Galliard Homes.

The council as a political entity has a leadership and guardianship role for the city and its opposition to homes there is well known.

The one concern is that as a planning authority the council must also be able to demonstrate that this is a completely proper protection on its own merits, free of political corner-cutting.