Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2021/242

Contact: Steve Jorden, Corporate Director Commercial Development, Assets and Investment Tel: 07770 867896

 

Report by Corporate Director - Commercial Development, Assets and Investment (CA15).

 

The information in this case is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed categories:

 

3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

 

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that a negotiation is ongoing and would prejudice the position of the authority in the process of that negotiation and the Council’s standing generally in relation to such matters in future, to the detriment of the Council’s ability properly to discharge its fiduciary and other duties as a public authority.

 

Appendix 2 containing exempt information under the above paragraph is attached.

 

To report back on the public engagement exercise and make a recommendation on whether to commence formal negotiations for the lease of Council owned land.

 

1.            The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

 

(a)          Authorise Officers to enter into detailed discussions as requested by Oxford United Football Club (OUFC) on the use of Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) owned land for the development of a new football stadium, subject to approval of detailed plans and undertakings and to planning permission.

(b)          Instruct Officers to ensure that any In Principle Agreement resulting from discussions with OUFC satisfies the objectives set out in (2a) below.

(c)          Authorise Officers to explore lease surrender discussions with OCC’s current tenants, and where appropriate with sub-tenants, subject to planning permission.

(d)          Instruct Officers to maintain open dialogue with stakeholders with interests in the project, in particular Cherwell District Council (CDC), the relevant Parish Councils, the community sports clubs who make use of Stratfield Brake, the Woodland Trust and neighbouring landowners.

(e)          Instruct officers to provide regular updates on progress to the Cabinet Member for Property and, as appropriate, Cabinet as a whole.

(f)           Require Officers to bring back to Cabinet for further discussion any detailed proposals that are made, and to bring to Cabinet for decision any In Principle Agreement that may be reached in due course.

 

 

2.            If Cabinet decide to proceed it is RECOMMENDED that Cabinet requires that:

 

a)    Officers ensure that any proposal by OUFC is consistent with the Oxfordshire Fair Deal Alliance’s priorities, by achieving the following objectives for the use of the OCC’s land:

                             I.        maintain a green barrier between Oxford and Kidlington

                            II.        improve access to nature and green spaces

                          III.        enhance facilities for local sports groups and on-going financial support

                          IV.        significantly improve the infrastructure connectivity in this location, improving public transport to reduce the need for car travel in so far as possible, and to improve sustainable transport through increased walking, cycling and rail use

                           V.        develop local employment opportunities in Oxfordshire

                          VI.        increase education and innovation through the provision of a sports centre of excellence and facilities linked to elite sport, community sport, health and wellbeing

                        VII.        support the County Council’s net zero carbon emissions pledge through highly sustainable development

b)   Officers pursue detailed discussions with a view to agreeing terms that achieve community benefit, meet OCC’s aspirations, retain OCC’s reasonable long-term control over the size and scale of OUFC’s proposed scheme, and comply with S.123 of the Local Government Act 1972 (and any other applicable legal requirements).

 

c)    Officers continue to explore any opportunities with neighbouring landowners that might enhance the delivery of a community sports hub at Stratfield Brake in line with OUFC’s commitment to replace and enhance the existing sports facilities and to develop sustainable operation models with the community clubs to protect their long-term future, prior to the commencement of any new stadium related development.

 

d)   Officers to return to Cabinet if further detailed proposals are made by OUFC and, in due course, if an In Principle Agreement with OUFC is reached, so that financial and lease terms can be discussed at a Special Cabinet Meeting.  

 

Cabinet received a report on the public engagement exercise it agreed at the January Cabinet meeting and considered recommendations on how to proceed.

 

The Chair had agreed to requests from a number of speakers:

 

Niall McWilliams, Managing Director, Oxford United FC, stated that this opportunity was not just about football, it was much wider than that.  It was about providing international class community facilities for the Kidlington area and our county; not just for sport but for music, theatre, drama and education.

 

Oxford United has been at the heart of the Oxfordshire community for over 127 years - it was arguably our most important community asset. Its custodians wanted to see it thrive for centuries to come.  A new stadium under the control of the club and not a third party, will allow this to happen.

 

The current licence agreement expires in 2026.  There was no possibility to purchase the current stadium nor extend the licence agreement post 2026.  The club had explored other land options but no other viable alternative sites were available to them.

 

Niall McWilliams addressed some of the concerns:

 

·         A Green barrier between Oxford and Kidlington will not only be maintained but enhanced

·         The stadium can be built to net zero carbon principles, with excellent public transport links

·         The club will endeavour to work with all local stakeholders to ensure a sympathetic design

 

He hoped members would decide to take this important step forward to enable the club to protect the livelihoods of all of those associated with Oxford United - an institution that belonged to the people of Oxfordshire.

 

Paul Peros, Chairman of the independent supporters’ trust OxVox, stated that the club now had owners with the vision, resources and experience to develop, not only a home for the club, but a hub for the whole county.   The club planned to provide up to 15% positive net carbon gain by partnering with progressive local companies to pioneer the latest green technologies.

 

He noted that 80% of those who took part in the survey supported leasing the land to Oxford United and OxVox had provided a petition of support signed by well over 5,000 locals. Every local sports club connected to Stratfield Brake actively supports this project and their members alone number in the thousands.

 

Paul Peros added that the local community deserved the chance to see detailed plans of a project that would provide infrastructure, jobs and vitality to the area. A community hub that would not only free up brownfield space elsewhere in the county for much needed housing, but form part of a strengthened green belt around Kidlington. The club must be allowed to commit its vision and promises to public scrutiny so that informed decisions can be made.

                 

David Hipkiss, Chair of Gosford All Blacks RFC, outlined their support in principle for the relocation of Oxford United to Stratfield Brake.  This was based on the core assumption that they will see the replacement and significant enhancement of the facilities they currently enjoyed to allow them to widen community participation.

 

The rugby club had over 500 players across all ages and genders and provided volunteer-led outreach programs in local primary and secondary schools.  The vast majority of members were from the OX5 postcode area and surrounding villages.  With the planned housing development, it was not unreasonable to expect that GAB needed to plan to double its rugby provision by 2030 and this cannot be achieved at Stratfield Brake as currently provided.

 

The rugby club was delighted with United’s offer to pay for both the establishment of new and enhanced facilities and their expert long-term maintenance.  It was their opinion that the proposed relocation was an opportunity that should not be missed and one which could yield huge long term multiple benefits for all local stakeholders.

 

City Councillor Liz Wade stated that this proposal had caused more concern for residents in Wolvercote Ward than any other issue in the last 3 years.  If this stadium, hotel, conference centre and other facilities were built, there will be a hole in the Green Belt which can never be repaired.

 

Currently there was the possibility of the green spaces of Stratfield Brake being sandwiched between vast housing estates and a golf course open only to members.

 

Councillor Wade noted that the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 provided an opportunity this summer to assess Oxfordshire’s overall Green Belt strategy.  It would make sense for the County’s initial decision on Stratfield Brake to await the outcome of the review.

 

Suzanne McIvor, secretary of the Harbord Road Area Residents’ Association, stated that the engagement exercise for Stratfield Brake had come out of the blue and did not allow enough time for local groups to gather information, summarise and distribute locally.  She had tried to get the 4-week period extended.

 

Oxford United already had established lines of communication with a large number of supporters.  Local groups had to start from scratch, with very few resources and other important consultations going on at the same time.  She said that the reality was that out of the 3,740 who responded, 80% were football club supporters.  The clear majority of local residents who responded were opposed to the proposal.

Suzanne McIvor believed that the report was heavily biased in favour of the proposal.   There was no acknowledgement that the local plan had already defined new Green Belt boundaries which were supposed to be long term.  There had undoubtedly been undue haste.  She did not think that the Council had really thought this through.  She urged Cabinet to vote against this proposal. 

 

Councillor Nigel Simpson, Kirtlington and Kidlington North, described what Oxford United Football Club and football in general meant to him.  Over the years of supporting them he had experienced a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows.  He said that the modern-day football experience was a real family affair.

 

With regards to the proposal, football will only be a small percentage of the actual use of the site. It will provide a much-needed community hub and updated facilities for the residents of Kidlington.  These can be incorporated within the stadium footprint under the stands to fully maximise every inch of space and reduce over-development of the site.

 

Councillor Simpson added that for too many years Kidlington had lacked any significant investment in important areas, schools, sports, health facilities and leisure.  This proposal will provide exciting new hubs for local football, rugby and cricket at no cost to the public purse.  The Woodland Trust Nature Reserve, neighbouring the site, was protected from any development plans but there was an opportunity to improve the access for local resident’s including the many dog walkers that use the site on a daily basis.

 

From his discussions with local residents there were 3 main concerns: parking, traffic and loss of green space.  He said that he will be paying close attention should this get approved to see what plans were put forward to alleviate these concerns.  It would be important to undertake a matchday parking enforcement plan for the whole of Kidlington to prevent unacceptable parking when a game was taking place.

 

Councillor Andrew Gant, Wolvercote & Summertown, stated that Cabinet needed to be clear what it was deciding and should use its position to safeguard the administration’s principles in this project.  For example, active travel should be central and could be encouraged through ticketing initiatives.

 

There were commitments to improving access to nature.  He and local residents will hold the Council to those.  There needed to be a commitment to active travel in the wider area compatible with LTN 1/20 and Vision Zero.  This had not happened with other developments in the area.  There was an opportunity now to join them up.

 

Councillor Gant added that the views of the planning authority, Cherwell District Council, on a range of critical issues were unknown.  The County Council needed to make its position clear that there should be minimal loss of green space with a minimum net gain of 10% for biodiversity and buildings should be constructed to net-zero or better.  He asked that, if Cabinet decided to go ahead with this, they take full account of the concerns of local residents going forward.

 

Councillor Liam Walker, Hanborough & Minster Lovell, said that he spoke as someone who was in favour of the plans and someone who was excited to see the future of football in Oxfordshire continue.  The site at Kidlington really did tick all the boxes for building not just as a sustainable stadium and sports complex but also ensuring a sustainable future and long-term home for Oxford United. 

 

The new proposed site was a stone's throw from the well-connected Oxford Parkway station along with two Park & Ride sites with regular bus services connected to Oxford and beyond. With less parking spaces being made available at the new site, fans would be encouraged to make the switch to public transport to get to match days at Stratfield Brake. 

 

Councillor Walker accepted that there were a lot of concerns from local residents and said it was absolutely vital these were addressed as part of that planning process. He applauded the Cabinet for running a consultation on this process which he said highlighted an overwhelming support from fans right across Oxfordshire.  The future of Oxford United and sport in Oxfordshire was at stake, and he urged the Cabinet to support the recommendation and work closely with club and Cherwell District Council to develop the plans for the site. 

 

Councillor Ian Middleton, Kidlington South, represented the area that Stratfield Brake was located within.  While he was grateful for the public engagement exercise, he felt it was rushed and the aims were unclear.  There had been misleading claims in the press and suggestions in the Cabinet report that there was strong local support for these proposals. That was simply not true.

 

By far the biggest issue was the fact that this site was in one of the last remaining vestiges of green belt in the area.  The removal of green belt protection was a long process that can take many years.  If OUFC have only four years to get this done, then he thought they were already out of time.  There were supposed advantages being claimed for local sports provision which had garnered some support from local clubs but much of that was already going to be provided for by developers’ contributions.

 

Councillor Middleton added that if Mr Kassam was keen to redevelop the site of the current stadium, surely a deal could be done with the new even wealthier owners of the club. If that site were redeveloped, there would be far more scope for biodiversity enhancement of a brownfield site than on one that already has green spaces and wildlife habitats.   The Cowley branch line extension would give the same advantages to the existing site along with the same sustainable transport proposals suggested here.

 

As the local Member, he will expect to be kept informed and involved in any talks with the club if they go ahead.  He would also like to see further significant engagement with local residents.  The Council’s responsibility must be to local residents first.

 

Councillor Charlie Hicks, Cowley, stated that he was supportive of the recommendations in the paper but wanted to make a few points.  It was clear that there should be continued high involvement of local people throughout this process.  The Council should also listen to the voices of grassroots football and rugby across the city and county.

 

It was important to ensure there was as much money as possible invested into active travel routes in the surrounding area and to resist any calls to increase car road capacity as part of any transport improvements.  Fans who lived around Littlemore and Blackbird Leys and in East Oxford more generally must be able to get to the new stadium sustainably.  He advocated a renewed focus on the Cowley Branch Line, looking at options for faster delivery of this passenger route and additional financing options such as land value uplift.

 

Councillor Calum Miller, Cabinet Member for Finance, stated that he was glad to have taken the time to hear more from those affected by the proposal before considering how to proceed.  He thanked the speakers and noted that their views reflected the diversity of opinion about the proposal that was captured in the engagement exercise.  He emphasised that the exercise was one input but not a single determinant of the Cabinet's approach.

 

The supporters of Oxford United were desperate for a new stadium and in the public engagement 80% of them favoured the start of negotiations.  Building such a significant new venue – especially if it were to include many ancillary buildings – was a major concern to local residents and 62% of them opposed negotiations or were unsure about them.

 

However, there was broad support for the six principles proposed and Councillor Miller believed that they should be more specific in the environmental goals. The Woodland Trust had suggested amendments which he proposed to adopt in the recommendations.

 

He supported the recommendation from officers that they should start more detailed discussions including the scale of the proposals, the support to local sports clubs, access to the site, parking proposals, biodiversity gain and the enhancement of the surrounding natural environment.

 

He believed it was important that the County engaged directly with the City Council and seek to establish what steps they have taken to support the club in remaining at the Kassam.  Also they should seek further detail from the club on the other sites they have explored and why these were not suitable.

 

Councillor Miller emphasised that the County Council does not have the power to agree to a lease.  The agreement of current tenants, Cherwell District Council and their sub-tenants the parish councils, was also needed.  He proposed that OUFC and CDC open a process akin to a pre-application process in which they can start to explore CDC’s views about any proposal in the Green Belt.

 

The Council was not at a point to start formal negotiations with OUFC. However, many of the key stakeholders had questions about the detail of the plans that should now be explored.  As the proposers of the scheme, it was on OUFC to provide answers and he welcomed their commitment to doing so.

 

Other Cabinet Members noted the arguments in favour and against and made the following additional points:

 

·         The Council was well positioned to be a critical friend in the process.

·         The idea of zero carbon buildings had come from the engagement process showing how the club was responding to feedback.

·         There had always been skepticism about the Kassam stadium whereas these proposals were realistic.

·         Many local residents cannot see the benefits and the club needed to respond to that.

·         Cherwell District Council as the planning authority and tenant needed to give its views on the matter to ensure the process was as transparent as possible.

 

The Chair emphasised that the Council was not proposing to enter negotiations at this stage but to continue the discussion.  She put the recommendations with the amendments to 2 a) I. and 2 a) II. proposed by Councillor Miller.  This was agreed.

 

1.            RESOLVED to

 

(a)          Authorise Officers to enter into detailed discussions as requested by Oxford United Football Club (OUFC) on the use of Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) owned land for the development of a new football stadium, subject to approval of detailed plans and undertakings and to planning permission.

(b)          Instruct Officers to ensure that any In Principle Agreement resulting from discussions with OUFC satisfies the objectives set out in (2a) below.

(c)          Authorise Officers to explore lease surrender discussions with OCC’s current tenants, and where appropriate with sub-tenants, subject to planning permission.

(d)          Instruct Officers to maintain open dialogue with stakeholders with interests in the project, in particular Cherwell District Council (CDC), the relevant Parish Councils, the community sports clubs who make use of Stratfield Brake, the Woodland Trust and neighbouring landowners.

(e)          Instruct officers to provide regular updates on progress to the Cabinet Member for Property and, as appropriate, Cabinet as a whole.

(f)           Require Officers to bring back to Cabinet for further discussion any detailed proposals that are made, and to bring to Cabinet for decision any In Principle Agreement that may be reached in due course.

 

 

2.            RESOLVED that:

 

a)    Officers ensure that any proposal by OUFC is consistent with the Oxfordshire Fair Deal Alliance’s priorities, by achieving the following objectives for the use of the OCC’s land:

                             I.        maintain a green barrier between Oxford and Kidlington and protecting and enhancing the surrounding environment including biodiversity, connecting habitats and supporting nature recovery

                            II.        improve public access to high-quality nature and green spaces

                          III.        enhance facilities for local sports groups and on-going financial support

                          IV.        significantly improve the infrastructure connectivity in this location, improving public transport to reduce the need for car travel in so far as possible, and to improve sustainable transport through increased walking, cycling and rail use

                           V.        develop local employment opportunities in Oxfordshire

                          VI.        increase education and innovation through the provision of a sports centre of excellence and facilities linked to elite sport, community sport, health and wellbeing

                        VII.        support the County Council’s net zero carbon emissions pledge through highly sustainable development

b)    Officers pursue detailed discussions with a view to agreeing terms that achieve community benefit, meet OCC’s aspirations, retain OCC’s reasonable long-term control over the size and scale of OUFC’s proposed scheme, and comply with S.123 of the Local Government Act 1972 (and any other applicable legal requirements).

 

c)    Officers continue to explore any opportunities with neighbouring landowners that might enhance the delivery of a community sports hub at Stratfield Brake in line with OUFC’s commitment to replace and enhance the existing sports facilities and to develop sustainable operation models with the community clubs to protect their long-term future, prior to the commencement of any new stadium related development.

 

d)    Officers to return to Cabinet if further detailed proposals are made by OUFC and, in due course, if an In Principle Agreement with OUFC is reached, so that financial and lease terms can be discussed at a Special Cabinet Meeting.