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old bob at herne bay

Defunct speedway tracks - and their resurrection

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6 hours ago, teaboy279 said:

A couple of viable people gave looked to restart racing (initially 4 wheels, but to inc speedway too)

The land owners stance is there will never be another race of any description on that land again.

I guess a bit like the Cradley scenario?

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15 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

I guess a bit like the Cradley scenario?

I think the cradley situation was a lot more sneaky.

Arena Essex was at risk during the Olympic build phase to a compulsory purchase order. And I think the Woodruffe family have been quite open for a number of years that the place would not be there for ever as land prices rose. They were totally honest and open. 

Think Cradley had promises of replacement venue and all that guff and were sold down the river.

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5 minutes ago, teaboy279 said:

I think the cradley situation was a lot more sneaky.

Arena Essex was at risk during the Olympic build phase to a compulsory purchase order. And I think the Woodruffe family have been quite open for a number of years that the place would not be there for ever as land prices rose. They were totally honest and open. 

Think Cradley had promises of replacement venue and all that guff and were sold down the river.

I am not sure if there actually was a compulsory  purchase order . There was certainly talk of planning permision but one of the problems was pollution on other parts of the land. The main problem with the speedway track was that the stock cars were not bringing in money. They depended on a few big meetings but the smaller ones were said to be poorly supported. Once Chick Woodruffe died the family, who weren’t really enthusiasts, only saw it as a business and once the income started to dry up they just wanted to sell.

The place is badly run down now , after two years of not being used and I think it would cost too much money to re open especially with the state the sport is now in.

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1 hour ago, E I Addio said:

I am not sure if there actually was a compulsory  purchase order . There was certainly talk of planning permision but one of the problems was pollution on other parts of the land. The main problem with the speedway track was that the stock cars were not bringing in money. They depended on a few big meetings but the smaller ones were said to be poorly supported. Once Chick Woodruffe died the family, who weren’t really enthusiasts, only saw it as a business and once the income started to dry up they just wanted to sell.

The place is badly run down now , after two years of not being used and I think it would cost too much money to re open especially with the state the sport is now in.

It's the people at Arena i miss. Yes it was a dump, and a poxy place to get to for us fans south of the river. With Rye gone as well, it's pretty bleak for speedway fans in that neck of the woods.

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10 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

It's the people at Arena i miss. Yes it was a dump, and a poxy place to get to for us fans south of the river. With Rye gone as well, it's pretty bleak for speedway fans in that neck of the woods.

Yeah, when I think of all the tracks we had within a 90-minute drive, it's heartbreaking...

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6 minutes ago, chunky said:

Yeah, when I think of all the tracks we had within a 90-minute drive, it's heartbreaking...

Yes, but even if they were still there it would be a bit longer than a 90 minute drive for both of us now :D

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1 hour ago, iris123 said:

Yes, but even if they were still there it would be a bit longer than a 90 minute drive for both of us now :D

Sorry, I can't agree with you as I would probably be accused of "bum-licking"... :P

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2 hours ago, cityrebel said:

It's the people at Arena i miss. Yes it was a dump, and a poxy place to get to for us fans south of the river. With Rye gone as well, it's pretty bleak for speedway fans in that neck of the woods.

Yes , I miss the people as well. I can’t explain what it was but there was a sort of cameraderie among the fans that I never experienced at Hackney for example. There was just something among the fans that seemed to gel. I though Coventry had a nice feel to as well and I miss going there. 

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1 minute ago, E I Addio said:

Yes , I miss the people as well. I can’t explain what it was but there was a sort of cameraderie among the fans that I never experienced at Hackney for example. There was just something among the fans that seemed to gel. I though Coventry had a nice feel to as well and I miss going there. 

I was the same at Cowley...it was the group that I stood with who made the evening.

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1 minute ago, steve roberts said:

I was the same at Cowley...it was the group that I stood with who made the evening.

That’s what speedway is all about really. Watching it on the telly is never quite the same.

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1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

I was the same at Cowley...it was the group that I stood with who made the evening.

Zzzzzz

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4 hours ago, cityrebel said:

It's the people at Arena i miss. Yes it was a dump, and a poxy place to get to for us fans south of the river. With Rye gone as well, it's pretty bleak for speedway fans in that neck of the woods.

Exactly the same, since I left in England, that's the biggest thing I miss.

 

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6 hours ago, Toto said:

Zzzzzz

Toto the troll or is it Dopey Debbs?

Edited by steve roberts

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10 hours ago, chunky said:

Yeah, when I think of all the tracks we had within a 90-minute drive, it's heartbreaking...

Same with Oxford when we had Reading, Coventry, Swindon and Milton Keynes all within easy reach.

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