THE city council could take legal action against Firoz Kassam over the long-vacant Priory pub 'much missed' by Oxford United fans.

The Grade II listed building, next to the Kassam Stadium, has been empty since June 2013.

Oxford Mail:

The Priory Inn played host to the unveiling of Oxford United manager and his assistant in 2000. Press conference L-R: Manager, David Kemp; Joe Kinnear; Firoz Kassam, and assistant manager, Alan McLeary.

It is owned by Oxford City Council but on a 99-year lease to Firoka, a company owned by Mr Kassam.

Discussions between Mr Kassam and city council planners over bringing the building back into use have resulted in a stalemate.

Council leader Bob Price said officers would soon be in touch with the businessman.

He said: "We have planning control over the Priory and the planning officers are in the situation of looking at what legal action they take against Mr Kassam, as he has not done the things he was supposed to do."

Oxford Mail:

The pub in 2005 - pic. Steve Wheeler

One option it has used in the past is issuing an enforcement notice giving owners or leaseholders a fixed period of time to make improvements to derelict properties or face prosecution.

Before the pub closed, it had a temporary marquee outside, which planning consultants for the then-landlord said was 'essential' for its financial viability.

Council planners ruled it was only acceptable on a temporary basis and English Heritage said it was 'alien and insensitive'.

Firoka is currently advertising the building to let and described it as potentially a 'hotel, pub, bar or club' but warned it was subject to planning permission.

Mr Kassam said city council planners were 'happy to let it rot' and said discussions over bringing it back to life had come to nothing.

Oxford Mail: GV The old Priory Inn Pub.Grenoble Road (near Kassam) Picture by Richard Cave 12.01.18

He said: "We have tried everything we can - nobody is playing ball on it, so it is sitting there rotting away until somebody comes to their senses and makes a commercial decision.

"It is a very important building but planners are happy to let it rot instead of assisting on some planning that can bring it back to life again and be commercially viable.

He added: "But those are issues outside my control.

"We have had many discussions with the planners but nothing has come of it."

Simon Bradbury, vice-chairman of the club's supporters' trust OxVox, said: "Ultimately we want someone to find a solution and it return and re-open for fans.

"It was a hub on matchdays and we would encourage anything that might see it brought back - it's something which all our supporters have missed."

The Priory is more than 600 years old, having been built in the mid-1400s as a rebuild of part of Littlemore Priory, a nunnery founded in 1110.