Coventry Stadium - Planning Objections

[Stephen H]

Coventry Stadium, the shale track that had been home to Stock Car Racing on Shale, and Speedway, closed a year or so back, but there is a Save Coventry Speedway Group trying to save the stadium.

The planning application to build 147 house on the Stadium is with Rugby Borough Council, and the group are trying to get as many objections as possible.

Search Rugby Borough Council Planning Portal, then on the portal search Coventry Stadium, then you can comment and object. But the deadline is 1st of March.

Its 11 months since Wimbledon was lost, so lets do all we can to raise awareness of Stock Car Racing, and the value of retaining these classic stadiums.

[Stephen H]

I hope its okay to copy the text from the Save Coventry Speedway Posts on Social Media, concerning the proposed planning permission to build houses on the stadium.

I think these are the words of Steve Jones

"As the consultation period had closed on March 1, Ms Buchanan was able to reveal to us the response to the planning application to redevelop Brandon Stadium.

Incredibly, a total of around 1,800 submissions were made to the council, with almost unanimous opposition to the proposal.

In fact, just SEVEN submissions supported the proposal - and the majority of those cited the frequent incursions by gypsies and fact that the stadium is currently an eyesore, which of course is entirely attributable to the developer's complete failure to properly secure the site.

The scale of the response is unheard of in this area, and demonstrates the love people have for the iconic Brandon Stadium. This was not a petition – this was 1,800 people who took the time and trouble to write a letter to the Council and express their opposition to proposals to redevelop the stadium.

We were advised that letters of objection had come from all over the world. Examples included a letter from a Commander of a submarine and a Professor from a Cancer Research Centre in New York, who always attended Brandon during frequent visits to the UK. Other letters came from Australia, from Denmark and from the stock car drivers of the Netherlands who made the annual trek to race at Brandon. Another letter came from speedway legend Barry Briggs who, despite being in Mexico, took time out to make an impassioned plea to save Brandon.

These objections from the corners of the world and even the depths of the ocean, demonstrate the international significance of Brandon Stadium.

Letters of objection came from speedway and stock car supporters in the area; from fans nationwide who were regular visitors to the stadium; from many former and current speedway riders and stock car drivers; and from the governing bodies of both speedway racing (the ACU, SCB and BSPA) and Stock Cars (BriSCA, BSCDA).

Crucially, the vast majority of local residents object to the proposed redevelopment and want to see the stadium remain as a motorsport venue, as it has been for 90 years.

We also know of four Members of Parliament who submitted their own objections: Mark Pawsey (Rugby), Marcus Jones (Nuneaton & Bedworth), Colleen Fletcher (Coventry North East) and Jim Cunningham (Coventry North West).

With regard to the likely timescale of activity, clearly there is a huge volume of material to collate and review before Ms Buchanan makes her recommendation to be taken forward to the Planning Committee.

Due to the complexity of the case this recommendation should not be expected before late May at the very earliest, and Ms Buchanan has offered to keep us informed.

The next significant event is the second stage of hearings into the Rugby Local Plan, which are scheduled to take place from April 17 to April 27. Our understanding is that Brandon will be discussed during these hearings."