STALEMATE continued tonight over the debt-ridden future of Oxford Stadium, leaving campaigners frustrated. 

It emerged in a pub meeting that there had been little to no progress assuring the future of the former greyhound and speedway track.

Oxford Stadium, in Blackbird Leys' Sandy Lane, closed its doors in 2012 and has lain abandoned ever since.

According to Companies House, owners GRA Acquisitions Limited are in almost £50m of debt.

Oxford City Council are now looking at the possibility of making a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), which allows local authorities to seize control of a site without the owner's consent.

Addressing about 200 people in The Chequers Pub, Headington Quarry, council leader Bob Price said attempts to find a compromise - keeping the stadium but with housing development "on the fringes" - had also been turned down.

He added: "We do not have the powers to get it back. We are not in a position to do that.

"It is a tragedy that it's in the hands of people that are simply asset strippers."

In 2014 the council won a Supreme Court battle with developers Galliard Homes, whose proposals to turn the site into 220 homes were met with strong opposition from local people.

According to an anonymous letter read out during the meeting, the situation is now growing dire as the roof is growing dilapidated and "vermin and rats have taken up residence".

It was suggested that due to GRA running at a loss - the company also lost nearly £2m in 2015 and £7.6m in 2014 - it would be unlikely to reach a compromise.

It was agreed that the council would look again at the prospect of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

Mr Price said a CPO was "unlikely to succeed" but said: "We will review the CPO position."