High Court refuses permission for Oxford United stadium judicial review

A community group has said it will challenge the High Court's refusal of its application for permission to bring a judicial review over Cherwell District Council's approval of a new 16,000-capacity stadium.

Oxford United Football Club won planning permission for the facility in February this year, paving the way for the venue to be built on land near Oxford Parkway Railway Station.

Community group ‘Friends of Stratfield Brake’ (FoSB) later issued a pre-action protocol letter arguing that the council acted unlawfully in approving the development on green belt land.

The group's claim centred on advice from Natural England which recommended a precautionary approach to the application, and a challenge of Cherwell's assessment of matchday road closures.

FoSB argued that the council accepted an assumption that extensive traffic management measures could be set up and removed within a very short period of time, despite there being no realistic evidential basis for that conclusion.

The group contended that these alleged errors were material to the decision to grant planning permission.

However, the High Court has since refused permission for the legal challenge.

In an update published in Saturday (4 July), the group said it had budgeted for this eventuality, adding: Our lawyers have already applied on our behalf for a permission hearing at which our barrister will set out, before another judge, why he believes permission should be granted."

FoSB expect the hearing to take place in late July or early August.

The claimants are being represented by Leigh Day Solicitors.

Adam Carey