HOPES of a return of dog racing at Oxford Stadium have been revived after campaigners were granted extra help in trying to buy it if it goes on sale.

Oxford City Council has listed the Sandy Lane building as an asset of community value, meaning local people will be guaranteed a six-month window to put together a bid. But that will only happen if owner GRA Acquisitions Ltd decides to put it on the open market, with those who want to see greyhound racing return there admitting they are in a “stalemate” with the business.

It was revealed earlier this year that there were at least two interested bidders for the site who wanted to reopen it as a business, but it is understood that little progress has been made in discussions.

The last dog race at the site was held in December 2012 with speedway ceasing four years earlier.

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Ian Sawyer, chairman of Save Oxford Stadium, said: “We still want to get the stadium reopened and listed it because of the amount of support there is for keeping it.

“It is a vital part of the community and there are people trying to buy it, but unfortunately we are now stuck in a waiting game.”

And Karting Oxford owner Andy Cooper, a former speedway mechanic whose business runs inside the original dog and speedway track, added: “The resolve of people here is now greater than it has ever been.

“The developers might have been under the impression that by dragging this out people would lose interest, but the longer this goes on the more the community will feel it should be brought back into use.

“The only way that will happen is to keep piling pressure on.

“Until then, there is a stalemate and that is of no benefit to anyone.”

The bid to register the stadium as a community asset was backed by Oxford East MP Andrew Smith, who urged GRA Acquisitions not to “dig its heels in”.

He added: “At the moment the situation we are in is really frustrating for everyone.”

According to the Land Registry, the stadium last changed hands two years ago in a deal worth £21.4m between GRA Ltd and GRA Acquisition Ltd.

The news of its listing comes after the city council rejected a bid by Galliard Homes last year to build 220 homes on the site, which council leaders claim is still viable for greyhound racing.

To help protect the site further from redevelopment, the local authority also made it a conservation area.

This was contested by GRA Acquisitions in a legal battle that went to the High Court, but Mr Justice Ouseley ruled in the city council’s favour in January.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price confirmed the authority had held meetings with Galliard Homes in May, months after the site’s conservation area status was upheld.

He added: “They were still seeking a way of developing the site and we made our position clear to them.

“We have not heard back since, but we know that the potential bidders for the site are confident they can make the site pay.”

The council is now set to produce a management plan for the stadium site, which will say how it should be maintained.

Galliard Homes did not respond to requests for a comment.