Should Kidlington Parish Council support the building of a stadium for Oxford United Football Club in Kidlington?
Why is the poll taking place?
At the Annual Parish Meeting on 30 March 2023 a group of residents called for a Parish Poll on the question whether the Parish Council should oppose the building of a stadium for Oxford United Football Club in Kidlington. The wording was subsequently amended after a vote to replace “oppose” with “support”.
The law requires that a poll should be held more than 14 days but less than 25 days (excluding weekends and bank holidays) from the date the poll is called. This call was therefore contrary to the decision of the Parish Council NOT to consult residents before detailed plans of the project are available.
The Parish Council is legally obliged to allow the poll to proceed, whatever its view on the matter may be. Provided that the call is supported by at least 10 electors or one-third of those electors present, whichever is the lesser, the poll has to take place. At the meeting when the call is made, the only voting allowed is on the exact wording of the question, not on the substance.
Kidlington Parish Council has remained neutral on the stadium proposal throughout the discussions, and will do so until the detailed plans are received. You can read more information on our position here.
A Parish Poll is only an expresson of opinion: its outcome will not be binding on the Parish Council, and it will be open to the Council to hold further consultation with residents on the issue, if it so decides, once the detailed plans have been received. Nor, as far as the current triangle proposal is concerned, will the Parish Council’s view be binding on the County Council, who own the Triangle site and who will decide whether the stadium plan goes forward.
Voting
The poll is for Kidlington Parish registered voters only.
The poll will be run by Cherwell District Council and has to take place after the local elections. It will be held at the usual polling stations in the Village from 4 pm to 9 pm on Wednesday 10 May.
Poll cards will not be issued. Postal votes and proxy voting are not allowed for Parish Polls. Voter ID will not be required, but voters will have to identify themselves by their address on the electoral roll with staff at the polling station.
The polling stations will be the same as for the local elections on 4 May (Kidlington Baptist Church, Exeter Hall, Kidlington Youth Football Club, Kidlington Methodist Church Hall and the Church of St John the Baptist). You must use your allocated polling station as shown on the polling card you received for the local elections on 4 May. If in doubt you can find out your polling station by contacting the Cherwell Elections team on 01295 227005 or email elections@cherwell-dc.gov.uk, or by entering your postcode on this webpage.
Further information
Details on the stadium proposal are available here.
See the official notice of the Poll and Cherwell District Council's webpage on the subect.
For the benefit of those who may be puzzled by laws on Parish Polls, please see details on the relevant legislation as notified by Cherwell District Council.
See also the information sheet that the Parish Council is sending to all electors about the poll.