DES Buckingham has praised the work done behind the scenes, in order for Oxford United to submit a planning application for a proposed new stadium.

The U’s announced at the end of last month that a full planning application had been submitted to Cherwell District Council, for the construction of a 16,000-capacity ground at The Triangle, south of Kidlington Roundabout.

That application was validated this week, allowing a raft of planning documents to be made available via the district council’s online planning portal.

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United head coach Buckingham welcomed the latest step, but recognised there is still a long way to go for the club, on its journey to receiving planning permission.

He said: “I know the club have worked extremely hard to try and get it to this stage, and it shows the plan that the club wants to take, to take the club forward, both in this league and for the future.

“It’s not just in terms of the league, but for the development of football in this county. It’s a wonderful stage to be at, and there’s a lot more work to do, but it shows there’s a real good plan for the future of the first team, but also the whole club itself.”

The planning application can be found on Cherwell’s online planning portal, using the reference number 24/00539/F.