Stadium supporters race to stop housing plans (From The Oxford Times)

How can someone outside the city support the Campaign?

Urm, much needed housing, or dogs & bikes going round and round an oval circuit?
Bit of a no-brainer really

So according to your logic Dilligaf, we should build over all leisure places. Goodbye to Kassam Staduim, and bowlplex, goodbye to all the swimming pools, actually goodbye to everything that gives us entertainment . Doh

Bartsimpson_uk wrote:
So according to your logic Dilligaf, we should build over all leisure places. Goodbye to Kassam Staduim, and bowlplex, goodbye to all the swimming pools, actually goodbye to everything that gives us entertainment . Doh

Not at all, dog racing & speedway don't exactly attract huge crowds, and I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find another location for a stadium, where as housing is generally built where it's most needed.
I didn't mention any of the other places you mentioned, you just decided to try to make a mountain out of a molehill

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
Urm, much needed housing, or dogs & bikes going round and round an oval circuit?
Bit of a no-brainer really

Hear! hear!

Dog and speedway racing attracts more support than Oxford City football, so according to you we should build there as well. How much support does a sport need to attract to stop it being closed then?? Where is your logic in knocking the stadium down and rebuilding it elsewhere?? Why not just build the houses at the new location????

I only went to the stadium once - through a bargain Groupon deal - and it was virtually empty. If the stadium really were such a 'hot ticket' for people living in Oxford, I very much doubt the owners would be considering its sale. Clearly, it isn't making all that much money and the people in charge have decided to put the land to better use. Fair enough. This is a site absolutely surrounded by other housing - it's hardly green belt!! I am a first time buyer looking to get on the property ladder. There is hardly anywhere affordable available in Oxford! There is a desperate need for housing below the £200k mark and perhaps this just might offer a solution to local people. Agree it's really important to keep sporting facilities, but I don't think greyhound racing - which advocates drinking pints, eating burgers and watching dogs do exercise - will really help us tackle rising obesity. Unlike football - practised at the Kassam.

Yep, going somewhere once really puts you in a position to give an accurate view! I went to the Kassam once and it was less than a quarter full. Better build housing on it.

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
Urm, much needed housing, or dogs & bikes going round and round an oval circuit?
Bit of a no-brainer really

The story is about people being opposed to more homes, not that the stadium will be closed.
The residents would like another leisure centre or something for residents to do instead of more homes.
Besides, we wouldn't need so much housing if the council would stop giving three bed homes to a single mum with one kid etc...

Yeah, I didn't go back to the stadium - and nor did thousands of other people - because unfortunately, it isn't what they want! Too late being sentimental about it now. More people should have attended.

I really don't understand residents' preference of 'having something to do'. Jeez, they're five minutes from Kassam, and 10 minutes from Oxford. If you can't find something to do there, I think you have a problem. It's all very well saying residents would 'like' a leisure centre. I would 'like' the chance to own my own home. The difference is we already have several leisure centres nearby. What we don't have is enough places for honest, working people to live. And as a person who has worked my backside off to afford a first home, why shouldn't I be able to buy one?

Yes, these developers are in it to make vast sums of money. They're not there to provide additional recreational opportunities for the residents of Blackbird Lees as a charitable gesture!

I'm afraid this is just Nimbyism.

Bartsimpson_uk wrote:
Dog and speedway racing attracts more support than Oxford City football, so according to you we should build there as well. How much support does a sport need to attract to stop it being closed then?? Where is your logic in knocking the stadium down and rebuilding it elsewhere?? Why not just build the houses at the new location????

I'm all for building on football pitches, hate the sport personally.
If your facts are correct, why isn't the Kassam Stadium up for sale?
A dog & speedway track can be built almost anywhere, but not houses, houses need infrastructure & amenities, dog tracks don't.

gymrat34 wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
Urm, much needed housing, or dogs & bikes going round and round an oval circuit?
Bit of a no-brainer really

The story is about people being opposed to more homes, not that the stadium will be closed.
The residents would like another leisure centre or something for residents to do instead of more homes.
Besides, we wouldn't need so much housing if the council would stop giving three bed homes to a single mum with one kid etc...

It's not as if they're miles away from leisure facilities, or other amenities.
Developers won't build facilities if they don't think there will be the footfall to make them worthwhile.

Build the swimming pool there. Or have I just open another can of worms?...

Can't build it there, it's still on Blackbird Leys, and remember apparently its to difficult for people to get there!

The reason less people are attending is because it has been deliberately run down so they can sell it.

Bartsimpson_uk wrote:
The reason less people are attending is because it has been deliberately run down so they can sell it.

Just like Temple Cowley Pools then.

Miss Cynical wrote:
I only went to the stadium once - through a bargain Groupon deal - and it was virtually empty. If the stadium really were such a 'hot ticket' for people living in Oxford, I very much doubt the owners would be considering its sale. Clearly, it isn't making all that much money and the people in charge have decided to put the land to better use. Fair enough. This is a site absolutely surrounded by other housing - it's hardly green belt!! I am a first time buyer looking to get on the property ladder. There is hardly anywhere affordable available in Oxford! There is a desperate need for housing below the £200k mark and perhaps this just might offer a solution to local people. Agree it's really important to keep sporting facilities, but I don't think greyhound racing - which advocates drinking pints, eating burgers and watching dogs do exercise - will really help us tackle rising obesity. Unlike football - practised at the Kassam.

I have to rip you on this. Firstly I have literally just done a search on right move for properties within Oxford (OX1 - OX5) and I have 21 pages of results for houses for sale UNDER £200k. That is 168 properties for sale. What you are actually saying is you think you're too good for Barton/Rose Hill/Littlemore/BBLe
ys etc and really what they should do is rip stuff down closer to town so you can live there.
Now as for you ignorant comment about football.... So football at the kassam tackles obesity?? A sport dominated by sponsorship from Casinos, alcohol brands, fast food brands etc etc. Where all spectators stuff pasties in their mouths, beer down their necks. Where since the 1970s has been associated with nothing but violence and racism. Where as little as days ago Lazio neo nazi fans clashed with Spurs fans and seriously injured innocent people between the ages of 18-60?!
But family fun like the dog track is bad and makes people fat? I've been 5 times, all on socials and every time it was packed. I've also used the go kart track there. It's the only go karting track for about 30 miles. England happens to produce some of the greatest motorsport talent in the world. Oxfordshire is one of the leading centres for R&D and employment in that industry. How do we get young people off the streets and interested in a sport if we close all their facilities?
And finally when this leisure facility has been knocked and 250 houses built (lets assume they're 3 bed average) what do the 1000 or so new residents to the area do? Where do the 250 or so cars park? what will be the additional strain on the road network at the junction for Tesco/Cowley? Where will these new residents work...
Do you actually associate boredom with the rise in crime? Do people not learn? (see BBLeys and it's epic problem with car crime in the 80s and 90s)

@sparky123456
"Do you actually associate boredom with the rise in crime?
Do people not learn?"
Urm, no. Boredom has nothing to do with a rise in crime, that's purely down to drugs, alcohol, greed, bad parenting, and a lack of respect for others.
Kids today are better off than ever, games consoles, computers, mobile phones, etc., I could go on.
Closest I got to a mobile phone as a kid, was 2 tin cans and a bit of string, people could leave their front doors unlocked for days on end, without incident.
It's the youth of today that have to learn, nothing in life is free.

Bartsimpson_uk wrote:
Can't build it there, it's still on Blackbird Leys, and remember apparently its to difficult for people to get there!

I'm not sure that you are correct there. The track was there long before Blackbird Leys was built and as far as I'm aware is part of Cowley.

I posted this about a week ago, but here it is again for info...

http://www.cowleyhis

tory.org.uk/assets/i

mages/db_images/db_A

irfield_3-11.jpg

(With acknowledgement to the Cowley Local History Society.)

Isn't it the Rugby that brings in the biggest crowds to the Kassam these days?

Hi Sparky,

Er, RE: the comment about me being too good to live in Littlemore.... I will give you one guess where I currently live....

Criticise all you want - the fact is there is a desperate housing shortage in Oxford that urgently needs to be addressed. This is outlined in Oxford City Council's housing strategy.

These houses have to go somewhere and a brownfield site surrounded by other housing seems a sensible choice.

RE: your comment about being bored - seriously, we all get bored some times but the vast majority don't feel the need to resort to crime. In my parents' age there were half the 'opportunities' available now and a fraction of the social problems.

People need to take responsibility for their own lives and behaviour - not expect the owners of a dog track to come and sort it out for them.

Miss Cynical. Firstly there is a desperate shortage of housing in Oxford for people that cannot afford £50k let alone £200k so unless they are going to give the houses away then this development will not help minimum wage earning families. Secondly your comment about the lack of trade at The Stadium is well off the mark, and indicative of somebody making up facts to suit their argument. And finally, The Stadium is unique for at least a 30 mile diameter and is well patronised from people living in that area, it will not be replaced and will be lost forever. There is interest from other parties to buy and run The Stadium, and indeed increasing it's use by bringing back Speedway as well, but as we saw when Morrells was sold off, the prime sites (pubs) were kept, run down, closed, and then turned into housing for a massive profit, and cash in the pockets of the owners. If the council refuse planning permission, then the value of the land (I.E. The Stadium) will be the going rate and the new owners would step in and everybody would benefit from a company that WANTS to run The Stadium for the customers. All concerned patrons should contact Andrew Smith, and ask him to support you in pressing for refusal of planning permission, and if possible to gain support for the potential buyers of The Stadium. WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION THE LAND THE STADIUM SITS ON IS WORTH WHAT OTHERS WILL PAY TO KEEP IT AS IT IS, WITH PLANNING PERMISSION, IT IS WELL ABOVE WHAT THEY CAN PAY. This is plain and simple property speculation to line the pockets of the current owners, and nothing to do with helping the housing situation in Oxford, as it is plain that it will do nothing help that. Once The Stadium is gone, then Speedway, The Dogs, and Go-Karting will be gone from one of England's oldest tracks forever, can we allow our Council to do this, when the only benefit is to big business?

Knock a facility down and build houses on it,fair enough BUT please please dont come out with all the bull about desperately needed housing.....plans to alleviate the housing shortage were thrown out not long ago,4000+ houses were going to be built as an extension to greater leys but because a few Nimbys from Garsington didnt want the great unwashed to get too close to them hollered from the rooftops the plan was thrown out...the stadium has been deliberately run down and the plan all along was to sell for housing to maximise profit .

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

GRB wrote:
Dilligaf2010: You're clearly a prize w***er!

Actually, I've not won that many prizes. But I have got an IQ of 145, considerably higher than yours, if all you can contribute is an attempted insult.
When you've finished school later, perhaps you'd like to try and contribute something more worthwhile?

Ahhhhh the old " look at my high IQ, aint i a clever boy???? " bet you filled in one of those IQ test ripoffs on the net and got that figure from there. ha ha ha

Miss Cynical wrote:
I only went to the stadium once - through a bargain Groupon deal - and it was virtually empty. If the stadium really were such a 'hot ticket' for people living in Oxford, I very much doubt the owners would be considering its sale. Clearly, it isn't making all that much money and the people in charge have decided to put the land to better use. Fair enough. This is a site absolutely surrounded by other housing - it's hardly green belt!! I am a first time buyer looking to get on the property ladder. There is hardly anywhere affordable available in Oxford! There is a desperate need for housing below the £200k mark and perhaps this just might offer a solution to local people. Agree it's really important to keep sporting facilities, but I don't think greyhound racing - which advocates drinking pints, eating burgers and watching dogs do exercise - will really help us tackle rising obesity. Unlike football - practised at the Kassam.

Think you may be dissapointed if the plans go ahead and you see the prices of the new houses;)
by the way i,ll let you into a little secret........The Kassam stadium is for WATCHING football NOT playing......along with stuffing burgers washed down with a beer or 2...unless of course you are lucky and actually PLAY for OUFC.

fredford wrote:

Miss Cynical wrote:
I only went to the stadium once - through a bargain Groupon deal - and it was virtually empty. If the stadium really were such a 'hot ticket' for people living in Oxford, I very much doubt the owners would be considering its sale. Clearly, it isn't making all that much money and the people in charge have decided to put the land to better use. Fair enough. This is a site absolutely surrounded by other housing - it's hardly green belt!! I am a first time buyer looking to get on the property ladder. There is hardly anywhere affordable available in Oxford! There is a desperate need for housing below the £200k mark and perhaps this just might offer a solution to local people. Agree it's really important to keep sporting facilities, but I don't think greyhound racing - which advocates drinking pints, eating burgers and watching dogs do exercise - will really help us tackle rising obesity. Unlike football - practised at the Kassam.

Think you may be dissapointed if the plans go ahead and you see the prices of the new houses;)
by the way i,ll let you into a little secret........The Kassam stadium is for WATCHING football NOT playing......along with stuffing burgers washed down with a beer or 2...unless of course you are lucky and actually PLAY for OUFC.

Don't forget the rugby.

OU brings in crowds, but when the rugby is on the congestion is rivalled only by a set of broken traffic lights on the Botley Road.

fredford wrote:
Knock a facility down and build houses on it,fair enough BUT please please dont come out with all the bull about desperately needed housing.....plans to alleviate the housing shortage were thrown out not long ago,4000+ houses were going to be built as an extension to greater leys but because a few Nimbys from Garsington didnt want the great unwashed to get too close to them hollered from the rooftops the plan was thrown out...the stadium has been deliberately run down and the plan all along was to sell for housing to maximise profit .

I'm not sure if the people of Garsington were realy that bothered....

"New Baldons" (there is a clue in the name) was to be built over a mile west of Garsington.

Pesonally, I think the land south of Grenoble Road should be rebuilt as a golf course - with the current course at Southfield rezoned for housing. It is, after all, within walking distance of 10s of thousands of jobs.

Again, you have all missed the point as to why it is closing.

BAGS racing at Oxford has stopped.

This £500 k per annum contract lifeline to any dogs track has not been renewed.

Why?

See my detailed analysis elsewhere in this website..

BAGS didn't renew the contract at Oxford, because it is more profitable to have races elsewhere.

Off course bookies, Hills, Corals etc have been hit by orchestrated off course gambles at BAGS meetings at Oxford.

Cash limits in bookies around Oxford have been in place for years. I should know as I am an ex owner.

BAGS have been the death knell for Oxford Stadium, not any planning consent.

If Oxford was profitable without BAGS, it wouldn't be closing at XMAS, it would carry on until it can be developed.

As I said before, the GOLDEN GOOSE has been shot by greed.

To ny w, with all due respect your are talking out of the wrong end. There are buyers for the stadium who will run it profitably and bring back speedway, but the PROPERTY SPECULATORS that own it will not sell. It has nothing to do with off course betting or BAGS, it is to do with killing a perfectly good track in the name of P.S. A simple question for you, why won't they sell it as a going concern? If you are who you say you are To ny w, you will be able to answer

Simple.in the long run It is worth more as a development site\
But it may take 12 months to get planning. It is closing now as BAGS have pulled out.
One dead goose.

fredford wrote:

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

GRB wrote:
Dilligaf2010: You're clearly a prize w***er!

Actually, I've not won that many prizes. But I have got an IQ of 145, considerably higher than yours, if all you can contribute is an attempted insult.
When you've finished school later, perhaps you'd like to try and contribute something more worthwhile?

Ahhhhh the old " look at my high IQ, aint i a clever boy???? " bet you filled in one of those IQ test ripoffs on the net and got that figure from there. ha ha ha

It shows a distinct lack of intelligence when someone states that they are more intelligent than someone else.

Bless.

TO NY W. WAKE UP. We all know the BAGS excuse, ANSWER MY QUESTION. there are 2 companies that can run it profitably, why don't the GRA sell it to them? SIMPLE QUESTION.

Pavinder Msvarensy wrote:
TO NY W. WAKE UP. We all know the BAGS excuse, ANSWER MY QUESTION. there are 2 companies that can run it profitably, why don't the GRA sell it to them? SIMPLE QUESTION.

Those two companies are bookmahers, i assume. They would of course take BAGS away from other GRA tracks, It is called self preservation, plus capitalising their asset.

Dilligaf2010 wrote:

Bartsimpson_uk wrote:
Dog and speedway racing attracts more support than Oxford City football, so according to you we should build there as well. How much support does a sport need to attract to stop it being closed then?? Where is your logic in knocking the stadium down and rebuilding it elsewhere?? Why not just build the houses at the new location????

I'm all for building on football pitches, hate the sport personally.
If your facts are correct, why isn't the Kassam Stadium up for sale?
A dog & speedway track can be built almost anywhere, but not houses, houses need infrastructure & amenities, dog tracks don't.

Well hello Dilly 'my friend'. You really are not a sporty kind are you and the thought of people enjoying themselves through their chosen recreational pleasure must fill you with dread.
The last time I recall you decrying peoples enjoyment was when your old mate Trenton Oldfield stopped the boat race. I suppose by your logic we should ban the boat race and fill the Thames with houseboats. Oh, good photo of the flooding by the way.