IN our previous column, Michelle Young highlighted our Three Point Pledge, which we are asking supporters to complete to confirm their intentions to avoid or reduce car use to attend games at The Triangle stadium.

I make no apology for reminding readers to complete the pledge at: oxvox.org.uk/three-point-pledge

The pledge page also allows you to give details, if you wish, of your likely travel plans in your own words. Anonymously of course. All very useful information for the future.

Recent days have seen a huge public consultation effort with the local community by the stadium developers and the football club, in person at the exhibition in Kidlington, by Zoom, and online. Many who have attended will have been impressed by the level of detail on offer and a refreshing willingness to listen, to communicate, and to take away suggestions and ideas.

A personal example: I’ve been involved with others in discussions around how the stadium will meet the needs of people with various disabilities, and I’ve been blown away by the effort being made to ensure that the stadium will be truly accessible to all.

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This is an effort which will pay dividends to everyone, not just to football supporters on a matchday. There is an opportunity here to produce a facility which is genuinely inclusive and accessible to the whole community.

But you may have been to the exhibition, viewed the images and CGI flythrough, read all the information online, and still have questions for the developers. Is it all deliverable? Can it be done on time and within budget? How will this benefit me as a local resident?

There are many avenues to ask your questions. Directly to the developers is one – visit their website or email them. Another is the supporters’ panel OUSP. At OxVox, we encourage anyone to email us at enquiries@oxvox.org.uk

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The coming weeks are the time to make your views and ideas known. Plans for the internal layout are on the web, but nothing is yet set in stone (quite literally, or perhaps I should say set in wood or other sustainable materials!).

This is a moment for Oxford United fans to be hugely positive about the club’s progress on and off the field. Perhaps I just speak for myself, but it often seems that optimism doesn’t come naturally to us. Expectations are often low.

Let’s break that cycle. The club is on the up. A great start to the season on the field, a genuinely exciting opportunity to escape the Grenoble Road stadium, and to provide a fantastic community facility for all. Bring it on!

Please join your independent supporters’ trust as a full member at oxvox.org.uk/join-oxvox or sign up as a free associate member at oxvox.org.uk/associate-signup