OXFORD United currently have ‘no other long-term option’ when it comes to having a home to play football.

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

That application has since been validated, meaning a raft of planning documents became available via the district council’s online planning portal.

An alternative site assessment, prepared by Ridge and Partners LLP, stated: “The club has conducted an exhaustive land search over a number of years in order to identify a suitable site for relocation.

“The only site that meets the parameters for development, is available and suitable for development is The Triangle.”

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Asked at last night’s fans’ forum about a Plan B for the club, United chairman Grant Ferguson said: “There are not a lot of options, which is why we’ve fought so hard for The Triangle site.

“Is there a future for the football club? Of course there is. It’s a historical institution and there’ll be a future for it.

“We just have to focus in getting that home at The Triangle. If it takes an extra six or 12 months, there are things we can do.

“We’ll find something, and we might just have to get more creative.”

U’s development director Jon Clarke added: “We’re constantly looking at the risks with this and the options if things don’t go our way.

“We’ve had meetings looking at risk mitigating, and we want to protect the long-term future of this club.

“At this moment in time, there is no other long-term option to us. We have friends in the football community who can help us in the short-term if we need to, but this is the only viable long-term option for the football club.”

Clarke also touched upon the potential for a footbridge over Oxford Road near The Triangle site, and when an application for it might be submitted.

He said: “We’re in a pre-application process for a bridge. We’re having those discussions, we have designs, we have options, and we’re exploring those.

“We’ll move onto a scoping exercise to see if we need to do a full Environmental Impact Assessment, and then we’ll go to a planning application in the spring or early summer.”

He added: “If you want to support, write your letters of support. You can go on to the website and the planning portal, and you should be able to write in and support.

“At the moment, letters are flooding in, in support and against the stadium, so if you do support it, please make your voice heard, and write in.”

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