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Mick Bratley

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Posts posted by Mick Bratley

  1. Posted

    9 hours ago, OldNutter said:

    Just a few questions - where are the school and doctors surgery going, how can he justify the comment about the EoES  not being the home of the Panthers when they have been there longer than he has been an adult and where does the £70K loss come from? 

    Finally, can we vote for the first target at the indoor axe throwing in the indoor sports hall?

    The £70k is pure fabrication to suit his agenda. The consortium will hopefully release a statement on Friday, once it has been reviewed by their legal team.

    • Like 2

  3. Posted · Edited by Mick Bratley

    12 hours ago, OldNutter said:

    That document on the PCC planning portal that gives the AEPG rebuttal of the speedway at the EoES is very telling.  The obvious anger in the tone of it shows how much Butterfield is hurting and how much the fact that he had no idea at all about anything to do with speedway was in his mind all along..  The fact that he didn't even understand the position of speedway in the sporting hierarchy of the country is an obvious open  personal failure on his part.  It shows that he has had no intention at all of even considering speedway as a part of his thinking when he used the standard proforma approach to the development planning structure.  That exposed level of incompetence has become personal now.  In that document he has exposed the extent to which he was intent on only considering the bog-standard development type carbon copy that has succeeded when used by others in the past down south.  That hollow personal crusade approach makes it very clear that the sort of activities that have made the EoES so valued by the community were never going to line his pockets to the extent he thinks he needs to survive.  That makes him simultaneously both dangerous and vulnerable.

    The AEPG approach is to make a significant point in the low number of times a section of the EoES would be used for speedway.  On it's own that simplistic outsider understanding is obvious in every part of the Butterfield plan.  No separate proper spectator sport can ever hope to get close to making a profit without becoming a part of a shared multi-use volume occupancy.  Even the new Spurs stadium has been designed to take in American Football, Women's Football and huge pop concerts plus more.  Moreover, if you are shouting your mouth out about only allowing one more year of occupancy to anything, including speedway while you draw your plans up was always going to make sure that having more than one speedway team riding at the EoES was going to be impossible to justify.  The lack of speedway in Peterborough is solely down to one misguided outsider.  Any multi-use sport facility of the kind that anyone with a single brain-cell would contemplate to future-proof the continued community value of the EoES would have to be designed to accommodate a wide range of sports, both inside and outside.  The areas under the grandstands could be able to house gym-type sporting facilities, squash, badminton, martial arts and so-on.  The centre green could be used for grass type sports like local school football and hockey championships and so on.  Add that to the fact that the local plan only approved 650-ish houses by including the LP30 sections because it was making sure that there were proper large spaces to carry on the EoES legacy of events rather than the Butterfield concrete jungle of houses, the hotel/pub that no brewery will ever want to take on and daft posh-boy psuedo-sports concrete shells, mean this ill-conceived pile of dross should be consigned to hanging on a piece of string in the smallest room so it is at least doing something useful.

    Perfectly summed up. It would be very good if you could very slightly sanitise the text and post it on the councils planning portal in response to the two applications. Your second paragraph regarding the multi use occupancy of the stadium as part of the overall development is something I have been banging on about since the start of this nonsense.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    17 minutes ago, False dawn said:

    I'm surprised no one has mentioned the real source of entertainment. That being the two minute clock. You'd have thought they would have checked it worked correctly prior to the meeting. Repeated attempts to get it stop from starting at 3 minutes were successful late on only for it to then to insist on starting from 40 seconds.

    Ironically, I felt the meeting did actually move along quite well.

    Not just me then. Kept me amused all night. Not the brightest idea having a red display either.

    • Like 1

  6. Posted

    12 hours ago, bigcatdiary said:

    I am sure that’s Butterfield's plan to convince all supporters their is no chance of speedway ever returning to the Showground, what I did find interesting is the EOE Agricultural Society’s decision to open the Showground up for the local hunt brigade for a dog show, that surely weakens their argument that they had shut the Showground down to everything to enable the planning application to get approved.

    What he clearly hasn't taken into consideration is the supporters plan to stop the planning application from ever getting approved, at the moment we are still awaiting what the Environmental Agency findings will be in relation to the recent poisoning of thousands of fish at Ferry Meadows, it’s likely the local water courses have been contaminated by something, I do wonder what could have possibly caused this, local farmers or local businesses that work near Ferry Meadows.

    Be very timely if the Environmental Agency findings are released today or tomorrow morning ahead of AEPGs second revised planning application for the DHL business which is being heard tomorrow afternoon at the Town Hall at 13:30. Be magnificent if those findings accuse AEPG of their businesses killing 100,000 fish.

  7. Posted

    On 1/15/2024 at 3:33 PM, NorwichTownFan said:

    So DHL looks as if they're already using part of the site for car storage, although the pits area and the safety fence has been removed, its got to be a good thing that the stand is still standing. 

    It’s not just DHL there are other companies doing the same work there now Vauxhall, Audi and Tesla in addition to DHL . . . . but don’t tell anybody, they don’t want anyone to know.

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    Myself and Carl Johnson attended the Parish Council meeting this evening with about 25 supporters (thanks guys). I spoke at length to the council about the current situation facing the club and I am pleased to say that the Parish Council have agreed to submit an application to Peterborough City Council to apply for the Speedway Track and surrounds (including the grandstand) to be considered for an Asset of Community Value. The fact the Parish Council has agreed to do this (we never asked them to do this) is very pleasing and it demonstrates that the Parish Council of Orton Waterville (which covers the Showground) are 100% supportive of Peterborough Panthers Speedway Club being retained in Peterborough.

    I suspect that would have been the best attended Parish Council meeting of the year, extra chairs were required, although I think initially they thought it was some sort of Internet Flash Mob that had turned up with flags and banners! Special mention to the (very) young Panthers supporting children who came, you guys were amazing.

    Thanks also to Cllr Julie Stevenson for her continuing commitment in our quest to retain Speedway in Peterborough.

    • Like 10

  9. Posted

    Motion to be tabled at the next full Peterborough City Council meeting to be held on Wednesday 6th December 2023. This will be live-streamed.

    6. Motion from Councillor Stevenson
    The team motorbike sport known as ‘speedway’ has been of great credit to Peterborough since 1970. The local ‘Peterborough Panthers’ team has won the highest level national championship three times, most recently in 2021.
    Over the years, the club has brought many trophies to our city at various levels within the sport, including junior level.
    Peterborough Speedway has put the city of on the international map, via regular live TV coverage broadcast on the Warner Bros Discovery TV channel.
    Since 1970 until now, Peterborough Panthers has been racing on a purpose-built racetrack, thought to be one of the best in the world, on the East of England Showground. The showground’s current owner, the East of England Agricultural Society (EEAS) now wishes to sell the showground, and the council’s local plan states that the land may be developed for housing and leisure.
    However, AEPG, the company tasked with preparing the showground land for sale on behalf of EEAS has made it clear that the Peterborough speedway club is no longer permitted to race at the showground with immediate effect, regardless of the outcome of its two existing planning applications to redevelop the site. (In an article published in the Peterborough Telegraph on 21st November 2023, AEPG said, “To be clear, the decision not to renew the arrangement for running speedway meets would remain, irrespective of any planning applications on the land.”)
    The landowner and its agent having confirmed that the club will not be permitted to race at the showground after the end of the 2023 season (which has now concluded), means that club now has nowhere to race, and with nowhere to race the club cannot continue to operate and the sport of speedway in Peterborough may die.
    As a matter of urgency, Peterborough Panthers Speedway Club must now find a new home.
     96

     This council acknowledges:
     The enormous cultural and economic benefits that Peterborough Panthers Speedway Club has brought to Peterborough over the past 53 years.
     The many benefits Peterborough Panthers Speedway Club brings to the residents of Peterborough, many of whom have spoken of how the club has contributed positively towards their mental health and sense of wellbeing and community.
     That Peterborough Panthers provides positive role models for young people who are interested in motorbikes and provides a means for them to enjoy motorbikes as a sport in a safe and responsible way.
    This council resolves:
     To arrange a meeting between the current owners of the Peterborough Panthers Speedway Team and the council leader and relevant cabinet member(s) and council officers to discover if there is any way the council can help to keep the sport of speedway alive in Peterborough.
     To promote speedway in Peterborough so that more of the city’s residents are aware of the benefits this family-oriented sport brings to the city.

    Full agenda here:  https://democracy.peterborough.gov.uk/documents/s51351/12. Motions on Notice.pdf

    • Like 2

  10. Posted

    58 minutes ago, OldNutter said:

    My apologies Bratters, my bad.  Having done the sums again based on more realistic valuations I agree that I got the final pre-build values wrong and the whole site with full planning permission is likely to be more like £90-100m unbuilt. Using a better real basis using local figures Land A is about 18-22 usable hectares and at around 1.6m per hectare fully planned would probably be worth around £30-35m unbuilt.  Land B would be around twice the size but at the lower density of housing is probably worth more like £55-65m.  My original current starting values were based on it being undeveloped grassland and yours would probably have included the working Arena and a good chunk of ongoing goodwill that has been thrown down the drain.  What it will be actually be worth after being packed down with permanent parked cars and lorries is anyone's guess.  Thanks

    No apology necessary fella.

  11. Posted

    23 minutes ago, Great Central said:

    Excellent summary so thank you. Just add to it, the Agricultural Society appears to have transferred all the shares of EESS Ltd to AEPG who will then repay the Agricultural Society from the money raised when Phase 1 goes through and money starts coming in. It seems to me that EAAS have been taken in by this "crook". 

    ‘Crook’ is not the right word. Amateur or Tinpot would be a better summarisation.

  12. Posted

    13 hours ago, OldNutter said:

    A few facts. Sorry it is long, but I feel we are at or near an important crossroads and need to concentrate on the real enemy.

    The showground is probably worth about £1.3m as agricultural land. If planning permission was granted for the whole site it would be worth about £20m.

    The speedway site was in the area called “Land A” and that is about one third and could hold the 650 houses in the plan 23/00412/OUT. That land area represents a current value of around £400K as farm land and would have a value with full planning of about £8-10m before a brick is even laid. The Land 2 area is not likely to be worth much more than that because it would have schools and more of the support activities like the mini golf course, an unnecessary hotel and the overload 800 houses that are not required to meet the current city plans.

    AEPG is a one-man band that came into being in early 2021. Three subordinate companies were also formed around the same time from scratch..

    AEP Residential

    AEP Land

    AEP Arena

    All four have one Director (no surprise who), one share of £1 and one employee

    Butterfield also took over the showground operating company off the Agricultural Society called East of England Showground Services Ltd. That company appears to be currently funded by the unplanned DPD contract now there are no events to provide any money for AEPG.

    The Access Earning Planning Group (clue of their business aims is in the name) has one project with one aim to get planning permission for 650 homes, sell the up-priced land with it’s planning permissions to a building developer, move onto Land B with some of the profit and get planning permission for as much else as possible. Be assured that none of those AEP companies is not going to build a single thing.

    The phase one master plan was to get planning permission for at least the 650 homes signed up by March 2024 in time for the next round of annual company reports and have it sold off to a Bodgit and Scarper to build the houses. Hence the need to remove the speedway to enable completion of the land sale ownership change before the start of the 2024 season, as AEPG has spelled out! The latest publicity stunt on affordable homes shows how detached with reality Butterfield is. The mix of unaffordable so-called affordable homes ( social housing to the rest of us) is likely to be changed as the builder submits variations to reduce their numbers because he couldn’t sell them. - it happened round here when a developer requested a change half-way through the estate build to reduce the number of affordable homes and was allowed to reduce the percentage to half overall by not building any more in the second half of the build!

    The critically weak points in the plan are to do with timing and content. Borrowing costs are mounting and the March deadline is looking unlikely to be met– they need a Plan B. The Land B development will not provide the necessary infrastructure or much more free money. Add the fact that the PCC planners realise, possibly as a result of all the objections to the plan by local and regional fans of the showground who coalesced around the emotion from speedway fans, that the showground is too much of a Peterborough institution to allow it to effectively be destroyed. As the PCC document points out, the current plans were going to effectively totally destroy the essence of the showground and replace it with a lump of houses plus schools, nurseries, medics, a load of infrastructure, poncy pretend pseudo-sporty stuff and that unnecessary hotel. The plan is fatally flawed. Whether a chancer from the outer reaches of West London is ever going to understand the power of local knowledge and emotion is unlikely. It is now either back to the drawing board or try this particular "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" scheme somewhere else with the wreckage of this one. The further away the better.

    At £1.3m there would have been a very long queue to purchase the Showground and I would have been in that queue! About five years ago it has been reported that £10m could have bought it although it wasn’t widely advertised. Again that would have had a lengthy queue of suitors if it had been marketed properly. I probably wouldn’t have been in that queue! You probably need to add another zero to the value with planning approval, already there is tacit agreement from three separate house developers for three parcels of land for approx £35m although given the current slump in house building they may kick that into the long grass.

  14. Posted

    2 hours ago, Crump99 said:

    Ideal attendee. He thinks that he's important and welcome in our city but at the same time looks like one of the homeless. Covers all bases :D

    I didn't see AEPG on the sponsor list either? Either they are running out of money, realising that they are unpopular or realising that they can't buy good publicity. I looked at many of the Great Eastern Run reports and despite the big splash they made of their sponsorship I never saw them mentioned.

    Third from the left in this picture. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-67491812

  15. Posted

    4 hours ago, Crump99 said:

    Glad that I read that again because the first bit answered what I remembered you saying about going to the SoS if their applications are rejected when they eventually get examined by PCC and hopefully thrown out.

    Secondly, Butterfield is, IMO, incapable of admitting that he's wrong so will keep chipping away throughout 2024, trying to plug the gaps in AEPG's increasingly unpopular concrete vision and attending more dinners for influential business people that he somehow keeps appearing at trying to make out that he's one of them.

    The longer it goes on the worse it looks for EEAS/AEPG so keeping the pressure on as Bratters and co are doing, is vital. If they can I think that AEPG will go early. Bearing in mind that it was reported in September that:

    • Peterborough Panthers speedway team informed in 2022 that the 2023 season would sadly have to be their last in the Showground grandstand, as that area is expected to be under different ownership by the time the 2024 Speedway season begins.
    • Sale of the land is expected to be approved by Spring 2024, again subject to planning approval.
    • The spades-in-the-ground date is still unclear until the planning committee's decision. Plans are at the outline planning stage now, which will be referred to several more stages of detailed back-and-forth, no doubt, before anything can physically go ahead. 

     

     

    He was pictured in the press last week attending a homeless charity! Why I don’t know, maybe something to do with affordable homes. Luckily the reporter knew of him and refused to interview him, as hard as he may have tried to get interviewed. Tinpot.

    • Like 2

  16. Posted

    2 hours ago, Sully said:

    Have you a link to this please? 

    http://plandocs.peterborough.gov.uk/PublicAccess.WebSearch/(S(33qzxbe541ggm4e1rx5qcxun))/Results.aspx
     

    Currently second document down PCC Policy.

    While you’re there submit your own objection!

    Here: https://planpa.peterborough.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=makeComment&keyVal=RSXWVDML04U00

    And here: https://planpa.peterborough.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=makeComment&keyVal=RSOMJ0MLIWV00

    • Like 1

  17. Posted · Edited by Mick Bratley

    53 minutes ago, OldNutter said:

    Bigcatdiary has spotted a document on the planning portal at PCC that all of us should have a quick read of (thanks for that).  It is the one dated 22 Novermber and is listed with all of the objections.  It brings their views out into the public following the meeting for the two planning applications that were turned down recently that should have curdled Butterfield's breakfast cereal.  Probably the most significant bit of it is an overall theme that the tactic of splitting the site into two parts was a monumental mistake.  Far from making the plans slip under the various portal doors, it has actually opened up the whole plan for what it is - an attempt to concrete the showground  in an attempt to make loads of money in exchange for replacing a major Peterborough asset with little more than a thumbnail of silly unnecessary money making pretend sporting venues, a few corner shops and an unnecessary hotel.  Clearly from this document, PCC planners, helped by local councillors lots of active locals and proper sports fans, have finally seen right through the whole charade.

    The tenure of that 22 Nov report is that the Local Plan was designed and passed into law with the aim of possibly adding a few new houses (although it is clear here that there are enough already on the planners books anyway) and keeping the showground as a working and very positive asset for the local area.  The loss of all those events that Butterfield and his cronies actively killed off by stopping them booking the showground are highlighted in the report and it is very clear indeed that the PCC planners didn't buy all those sneaky tactics and saw them for what they were - a gigantic con trick.  (applause please!)

    There is a section on LP36 that points out that the way the development has been planned does almost certainly not meet the requirements spelled out in LP36 to retain the character and use of the showground with either the two plans or a big single one.  It specifically identifies the loss of the speedway  in this part of their comments.

    The section on LP30 is absolutely devastating.  It specifically says that AEPG should not have served notice on the club to take the safety infrastructure and lighting down to make the club non-viable.  This is a loud barbed reference to the fact that making the club vacate the site is the real reason for Peterborough Panthers not being able to complete in speedway next season.  It also highlights the objection by Sport England, so a second round of applause. please.

    I would venture to suggest that this PCC document is an excellent repost to any idea that Butterfield thinks it would be a good idea to appeal to the SoS against the first stage of the application that was so comprehensively rejected.  A third and hopefully final round of applause please to all those who helped to highlight all of the flaws in this silly idea and let's make sure we keep our boots on their throats until the whole Butterfield gang are ejected southwards back down that lovely newly surfaced bit of the A1(M).  I really do hope they will see the error of their ways although I am sure they will keep bashing away so  we must keep our eyes peeled for the next chapter in this sorry saga.

    The shift in power of the council has definitely helped Speedway’s cause. The pressure we have put on AEPG is immense and guess what we’ve only just begun. The next two weeks are going to heap even more pressure on AEPG specifically with one confirmed (and as yet not announced publicly) event and one that I hope will be confirmed early next week. These two events will hit AEPG very hard. There is also another rally in the shopping centre of the ward where the Showground is on Saturday 2nd December.

    Also worth pointing out that the document you mention above originates from the PCC Planning Department. Great to see that Speedway is specifically mentioned in LP30, which kicks AEPG in the nuts as they have recently stated in a statement that LP30 does not specifically relate to Speedway. ‘ave it!

     

    • Like 9

  18. Posted

    20 hours ago, Crump99 said:

    Just looked at today's comedy edition from Stamford - comments: What a truly fantastic development and a great example of positive placemaking :D:icon_smile_clown: (what a giveaway, who uses terms like positive placemaking ;) )

    I am sure that it’s purely coincidental that a firm of architects reside on that particular street in Stamford. :rolleyes:

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

    25 minutes ago, TTT said:

    It's really alarming then if Buster is assisting the bad guys, He should walk away now and let the consortium have full control and they'll at least fight and show some balls in trying to save the club.

    If AEPG told Buster to go and demolish the stand first thing on Monday morning then he would do it without hesitation, Which begs the question where does this end? Buster is a lackey for AEPG and he'll do anything they tell him to do now just to save himself from potentially having to pay for the destruction of the club's home.

    It's the equivalent of hiring someone to do you dirty work for you and it just sends out a clear message that Buster would rather see our club die instead of keeping the club alive out of his own pocket, Therefore he's not willing to fight for the club unlike consortium, council and fans.

    Trust me, it really isn’t like that.

    Buster won't be demolishing the Grandstand as that is the property of the Showground not the Speedway club. The other issue is that the Grandstand has asbestos in it. Demolishing the Grandstand will be very costly, AEPG won’t be wanting to pay for that now. It is in their schedule to remove in several years time, subject of course to planning approval, they need planning approval before they can demolish it.

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    52 minutes ago, Crump99 said:

    Agreed. I sort of get, and appreciate, the removal of his one line top surface. That can be replaced and the track improved and returned to it's former glory. I don't get the fence though, that only plays in to the AEPG narrative of needing the site cleared because they think that some other clowns are going to get in bed with them for their proposed Spring 2024 land sale. What value is there in a load of old wood? That would have been included in this never ending consortium negotiation. Chapman's played a blinder throughout 2023 for Butterfield and AEPG, has he got a PE postcode?

    The plan seems to be, forget 2024, fight the AEPG planning applications and hope that there is something left to return to in 2025?

    Hopefully Chapman has to explain himself at the AGM. The Speedway Control Bureau put in a powerful objection to 23/00400/OUT | Outline permission for up to 850 dwellings (shame that they didn't add to 23/00412/OUT | Outline permission for up to 650 dwellings which is where the speedway track sits) but they are happy for one of their members to seemingly be happy to lose a prime circuit and stadium to further weaken their product? 

     

    The fence needed replacing during this close season anyway, it was rotten and held together by various bits and pieces.

    It’s important to note that AEPG instructed Buster to do this otherwise they would have employed contractors to do it and send him the bill. It’s been estimated that the removal of everything will cost £25k to £30k. Buster is most definitely not the bad guy here.

     

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 2

  21. Posted

    15 hours ago, wealdstone said:

    Seeing  images of the state of the track who exactly is ahead of the game?

    AEPG think that this will demonstrate that it satisfies option k of the local plan policy LP30, that being that the track is no longer fit for purpose. That’s naive, as they have instructed the current owners to destroy it. Pretty sure our council will not buy into that, more so given AEPGs arrogance and ignoring of the recent council refusal of their DHL operations. Agreed it doesn’t look good in those pictures but that’s only because we’ve never seen it like that before. There’s nothing that has been done that can’t be rectified in a short space of time, we have the manpower (supporters) and we have the sponsors who will support financially. AEPG may have broken supporters hearts but they’ll never break their spirit, these actions will just make the supporters more determined.

    • Like 6

  22. Posted

    16 hours ago, OldNutter said:

    Just come across a piece on the PT at https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/search-for-for-jobs-saving-solution-goes-on-after-east-of-england-showground-car-depot-plans-were-rejected-4400651 that shows that the objections to the EoS closure have put an effective and very painful boot on Butterfield's throat.  He has gone bleating to the council about the loss of 160 jobs if the DHL parking has to close down.  The article also comes clean and exposes what we already know that the DHL contract is his way of paying his loan on the site for the next FIVE years and that all of the closures of events were so that he could get somebody to pay him more than the events would pay while he got his development sorted out without having to do any work  himself.  Clearly, all those showground events need not have been evicted/rejected, never mind the close-down of the speedway for quite a while and the plans might well have slipped through without all this hoo-har if Butterfield had been less greedy.  It just shows how little research was done to study the local area and people rather that just opening a little office in the town and pretending to be a local.  At least now we know just how little this gang considered the people of Peterborough and surroundings.  The 160 jobs being claimed are just there to keep this awful lot in business to pedal their retirement fund plan along.

    I hardly think the prospect of the transporters and pollution from that depot for the next five years is quite in line with the aims of the farmers who created the showground before the magic money tree growers came along and not quite what all of the neighbouring residents had in mind until they heard this real truth forced out.

    Keep the boot on their throats and watch out for the next panic money-making plan to surface.

    AEPG are amateurs in a big boys world of developing. The East of England Agricultural Society (who are getting an easy ride in this and pretty sure that’s going to change as time passes) must be wondering how they’ve got into bed with such a tin pot company, one where the CEO is so worried about his development plans (which have received 1900 comments 99.75% of which are objections) has now enlisted his mates in the Home Counties to start submitting comments in support of the applications. Like I said, tin pot.

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