RACING track promoter Harry Findlay declaring his hand as a potential saviour for Oxford Stadium is, on the face of it, very good news for campaigners.
Speedway and dog racing fans, backed by Oxford City Council and local MP Andrew Smith, have fought an admirable battle to hold up Galliard Homes and its plan to tear down the old facility and build new homes on the site.
Many people would have given up and walked away after the stadium was shut down, beaten by the realisation that they were unlikely to defeat this developer.
The whole issue comes down to money. Galliard and the associated companies want a return off that site and this hardy band of battlers were unlikely to ever be able to come up with that themselves.
But what they have done by their campaigning is keep the issue alive and buy time for interested parties, such as Mr Findlay, to take an interest. There is optimism that Mr Findlay may now take over the stadium and re-open it but campaigners have to realise it will still come down to whether the size of his cheque meets the owners’ expectations.
Fighting to re-open it is a major battle. But you must then keep fighting to show it is a viable community facility and that is a longer term project.
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