A PLAN of action is being drawn up to save Oxford Stadium.

Blackbird Leys Parish Council held a special meeting to discuss defending the Sandy Lane dog track from housing developers last night.

The stadium was closed in December by operator the Greyhound Racing Association after it lost the hosting of a key weekly event.

Galliard Homes wants to flatten the stadium, built in 1939, to make way for 220 homes. Oxford City Council will be studying the planning application submitted last month to tear the stadium down.

Chairman of the parish council Gordon Roper said: “We are very determined the stadium stays as a leisure facility. The parish council is against the homes and we are not changing our minds.

“If we get 220 houses there won’t be enough schools, and how is the traffic going to get in and out of the estate? It is ridiculous at the moment.

“It is very important to get our argument in by the end of the month.”

The parish council met to collate its arguments and produce a letter of opposition to planning officers at a Blackbird Leys Community Centre meeting.

Labour MP for Oxford East Andrew Smith joined councillors and residents condemning the housing plans.

He has also produced a formal letter of objection to be submitted to the council.

He said: “There is a huge head of steam behind this.

“As the parish council covering the site, it is very important and I am sure it will be listened to.

“There is enormously strong support across Oxford and the county to save the stadium. When I am out and about talking to people it is raised with me all the time.”

Business at the stadium, including Karting Oxford, Lightning Motorcycle Training and Dance Connections, are still based at the site, but do not know how long for.

Dance Connections previously submitted a 1,552-signature petition against the plans.

Owner Sam Clifton said: “We are trying to block the site being bulldozed to give people enough time to come up with a viable business plan. We wrote a four-page objection.”

A consultation on plans to include Oxford Stadium on Oxford City Council’s Heritage Assets Register closed on Tuesday.

If it is agreed, councillors would have to take that into account while making a decision on the future of the stadium.

The first planning application was submitted in February but extra details about the demolition were requested and were submitted last month.

Andrew Smith's letter

I would like to underline my already publicly expressed opposition to the planning application to demolish the stadium and build houses on the site, writes Andrew Smith MP, below.
The grounds of my opposition, strongly supported by constituents, are:
The huge sporting and community value of the stadium
The range of activities and facilities it provides (including karting, dance, motorcycle training, social facilities, as well as greyhound racing).
That more could be provided there, like the return of speedway, if the facilities were operated to make the stadium successful.
The stadium supported hundreds of jobs, and can do again.
This site is zoned for recreation, not for housing.
This site is not on the city council list of sites suitable for housing.
There is interest from alternative potential owners who would like to operate the stadium as a sports and social facility.
There is huge public support – from the immediate neighbourhood and from the city, county and further afield – for retaining the stadium and making the most of its recreational facilities and potential.