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Planning officers will be fully aware that Leicester is currently a one year deal ( temporary) and we have to run in the NL (bottom division). Planning officers will also be aware that fans want to return at Brandon (even those that do decide to go Leicester), over 100 tradespeople willing to get it back into condition shows that. Planning officers will also know that Brandon held speedway AND Stox, there is no substitute for a stadium that can hold both for miles. All this will no doubt be in the document that the group gave to Rugby Council and also from hundreds of fans that have emailed their objection. If Coventry Bees were to be no more it will be becasue of Brandon Estates. They are the ones who won't let us use the stadium, they are the ones who inadequately secured the site letting it get vandalised. They are the ones putting a planning application in for housing. They are the ones who haven't even bothered talking to SCS&S group. They are the ones who dont care about fans or local residents, they are the ones who dont care about the history of the stadium. It will be their fault.

I agree with Jenga.

What,,, going down a hill on a sledge ?,,, its not usually a dangerous pastime, young kids do it, very rarely does it end in tears.

There is no comparison between Swindon and Belle Vue! Whenever I have seen Swindon, in person or on TV, it has been a 1 line wonder. The size is fine, the shape and likely the banking, material, etc, etc. are where the problems are.

From what I also have seen also on TV and videos it looks a great track and I agree I wish we had it at Poole on our track. For the last few years, the Poole track has been often poor which is unacceptable. Certainly hope this new relaying etc at Poole does the job and not before time.

Yes , you do have an opinion , and you're entitled to it, me responding to that opinion does not make me a troll , its called a forum people indulge in dialogue from time to time

maybe because ash aint a bad rider

Why not, todays speedway fans don't get enough speedway, so even though it's not a particular strong field it is another meeting with the incentive for the riders to compete in an international meeting and a final in Poland. Bring it on I say.

The real reason could be frostbite of the goolies. He certainly likes finding unusual ways of harming himself. As they say in that part of the world, "daft as a brush".

No different than going MotoX'ing before the start of the season (like many speedway riders do), except you wouldn't think an injury could occur sledging. It's just a freak accident.

Kai Niemi for me! Rode in the British League for 15 years from the mid 70's to early 90's when nearly all the Worlds top riders competed in it when it was the World toughest speedway League and for many of them years had averages of 6+. Rode in a number of World Finals pre the GP years when you had to qualify on merit rather than wildcards. Also must be noted that Niemi had to get through the notoriously hard Nordic final then the Inter Continental final which often had a stronger line up than the final itself. At Bradford in 1985 he was in the top 6 scorers!

I've not made it yet, but from tv and videos I've seen looks the perfect track. Wish we had it at Poole.

have a rest starman,you really dont do poole speedway or the majority of poole supporters any favours.

Exactly. What we need in Britain is more big tracks like the NSS to compete with the Polish scene. We've now got one which competes with the Polish tracks and is even better than quite a lot of them (Though the NSS is some 35 metres shorter than the old Hyde Road, which was considered the best track in the world). Most supporters (even the majority of Poole supporters) recognise that the NSS is world class and far and away the best track in Britain. As someone said, you've got to be stupid or jealous to say otherwise.

He represents GB more than any other rider already!! It's great to hear that he is clearly involved with the new guy and thank god this new guy has the sense to want to involve the best rider we have. Woffy would know better who to represent us than Rosco. Any nation would bite the hand off of a star rider wanting to be involved so let's just hope it all works out so that he is back involved. Fingers crossed.

Yes good point...I remember Masters trying to last season and crashing instead!

Dunno if there's any stats on it, but it would be interesting to see if its more dangerous to ride a moto X bike, or sledge down a hill.

Maybe our friend from Cornhill could be the one to reintroduce the much missed weekly news letter.

Lewis Rose needs to get fixed up otherwise he will end up having a terrible 2018 due to lack of meetings. Not going to get a ride in Poland. Reserves have to be Polish so there is only 5 spots available per week and he is bottom of the entire list with Summers.

Hopefully the Aussies will go with Doyle and either their National Champion, Tungate or Max Fricke.

Would love to see Kennett change his mind & sign for Newcastle, & there aren't that many matches per season now. If he signed for a southern team, he would still have all the away matches to travel to.

Errrr.... It has been awarded a leg, not the final, and the lineup is crap. Won’t be many bothering with it to be honest. If you want to see a real lineup come to Poole’s 70th aniversary meeting.

This thread has become an embarrassment. Have a word with yourselves!

Kelv: "You're becoming a bit frosty with me Nige, the cold shoulder treatment yet again..."

very nice mmmmmvery nicelollol

There's still some who is struggling to see that for some reason. Bees' return to Brandon IS NOT HELPED AT ALL by them running at Leicester - quite the opposite. I won't go to Leicester for a Coventry fixture. I might go to an away fixture somewhere, so that I can have a good shout in the direction of that ally of Brandon Estates, Mick Horton

No Peter Prinsloo? Come on, man, You must be joking ! But with Peter Prinsloo replacing the unknown Stan Paulsen, this Zimbabwe/Rhodesia Top Five looks quite good !

So can anyone from uk there are numerous airports within the uk to fly to newcastle

Hope you've applied for the head of media and internet communications job

Not 1 single person on this forum has ever said that the NSS is the only good track in the UK, the races you mention were indeed classics, raced on great tracks when stadiums had far more spectators in them generating more money which could and was used to keep the tracks in good racing condition.Somerset is and always has been a great track according to home fans and visiting fans, I have been once when the Rebels were riding against Sheffield about 4 or 5 years back. What a great meeting that was, the track was as others have said, and I went home, well actually I was in my touring caravan at a small caravan site almost opposite the stadium, with fond memories of the OTA.The same can be said about other tracks, Swindon,K Lynn (when prepared to the standard Lynn fans are use to) Coventry, Sheffield to name just a few. I've purposely left your beloved Poole to the end. The WTC final at Poole was fantastic entertainment, provided on a properly prepared good SAFE racing track, the same cannot be said about Pooles track of recent years Ask C Holder. Lets all hope that the recent work restores your track back to its former condition.

Only one arse wipe I know JENGA By the way you still spout some pish.

You do realise its the BSPA that has awarded it to Redcar don't you, Thought?

We might struggle against the French though.....

...Ah! The days of Test Matches between England, Denmark and the USA...even England vs. The Rest of the World! Happy days!

Steve Shoveller locked out of school

Very harsh to be honest Keith, but everybody is entitled to there own view Keith surely.???

But surely you put an opinion on a public forum knowing that somebody at some point will probably challenge it? Especially when it goes against the grain so much. If you can't be bothered with the hassle surely you wouldn't give that opinion in the first place

I see things are getting back to normal on the Poole thread didn't take long

I see the trolls are fishing tonight

Argentina, France or Italy it is then

I can't see the issue with British riders riding in both leagues in their own country. Other countries do it. It's called looking after your own. Couldn't care less if the French or other nationalities can't double up as well.

...wouldn't be without my copies! Both great reads when speedway attracted thousands rather than hundreds!

THE Campaign Group have now submitted their representations to Rugby Borough Council regarding the Brandon Estates planning application. It has been necessary to prepare a lengthy submission in order to not only deal with the deficiencies of the application in technical terms, but also to correct numerous assertions made throughout the planning material which are either misleading or simply incorrect, and to also present an accurate timeline of the events of recent years. We have objected to the planning application on a total of eleven grounds. These are listed in the Executive Summary below. Each of those eleven grounds has its own section in our main document, and many give rise to other issues as the arguments are developed. We are particularly critical of the Turley Report on viability, and the Sustainability Appraisal, as neither present a fair or accurate appraisal of the position of the stadium when acquired by Brandon Estates – or at the end of 2016 – and both are entirely tailored to fit the applicant’s own criteria rather than providing an objective view or considering other suitable options. Other key sections refer to the damage done to the stadium since 2017; local and national policy concerning designated sports venues; the Green Belt status of the site; the negative impact of development on the area; and a wide range of other associated issues. The main document is backed up by further information in appendices as follows, many of which confirm that information in various parts of the planning application is seriously deficient or incorrect: - A brief introduction to the Campaign Group, our motives and our members. - Information previously published by the applicant which is directly contradictory to material in their planning application. - A 20-page document entitled ‘The Systematic Damage to the Iconic Brandon Stadium’ which is a full pictorial timeline of events since November 2016 and clearly shows how Brandon Estates have been seeking to benefit from their own lack of security on-site and the damage which has therefore been caused. Here we also include the outstanding response to our recent appeal for tradesmen/women. - Professional information relating to the business position of the stadium (staging speedway and stock car racing) under the previous owners. - Analysis and confirmation of the number of UK speedway venues over a 20-year period. - ‘Brandon Stadium – A Brief History’ – a 15-page document with pictures summarising the history of the stadium, the major events staged there for both speedway and stock cars, and its overwhelming importance to the local community. - The Campaign Group’s objections made to the local plan review. - Examples of major coverage in local, national and trade press. Our full submission, including appendices, runs to 80 pages, and provides a compelling argument not only for the rejection of the planning application but also for the stadium to be retained, re-furbished and re-opened. The timescale of the planning application is not known at this stage, but we have registered to speak at the official hearing. Our thanks to all speedway and stock car supporters from all over the world, official bodies and competitors of both sports, and the many local residents who have submitted their objections to this scheme to destroy one of the UK’s most famous oval motorsport venues. Below is the Executive Summary which forms the opening of our submission: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign is an umbrella grouping of people who wish to see the long heritage of Speedway and Stock Car Racing in Coventry / Rugby continue, and be returned to the iconic Brandon (aka Coventry) Stadium as soon as possible. The Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign wishes to place on record the strongest possible objections to Planning Application R18/0186, which would result in the loss and redevelopment of Brandon Stadium. The grounds of objections are as follows: 1. The proposals are directly contrary to the provisions of both the existing development plan (the Core Strategy, adopted 2011) and its emerging review (the Rugby Borough Local Plan, 2011-2031, Publication Draft, September 2016). 2. The housing proposals conflict with the Green Belt designation of the site. 3. The housing proposals are contrary to the provisions of national planning policy, which seeks to protect sports facilities from development. 4.'Fixing Our Broken Housing Market' and ‘Planning for Growth’ provide no grounds to support the housing proposals. 5. Brandon Stadium was, and remains, a viable use for the site. 6. Brandon Stadium remains the best site for Speedway and Stock Car Racing in Rugby Borough, and the failure of the owners in their obligations to secure the site is the only reason that has led to significant damage to the buildings since January 2017. 7. Brandon Stadium has a rich and long heritage reaching back to 1928 which should be treasured and protected. 8. The redevelopment of Brandon Stadium will result in the destruction of one of the most important tourist facilities in Rugby Borough. 9. The applicants have failed to demonstrate the viability of their proposals. 10. The proposals are premature and should be considered through the Development Plan process. 11. The Sustainability Appraisal and associated background material accompanying the planning application is deficient and does not provide sufficient basis to support the new housing proposals. In the following report and accompanying appendices we set out the reasoned and measured arguments in support of each of the above objections. We believe that the grounds of objection outlined above against Brandon Estates’ aggressive and predatory housing proposals are weighty, and present a compelling case for planning permission for the redevelopment of Brandon Stadium for new housing to be refused. The Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign accordingly and respectfully calls upon Rugby Borough Council to embrace the long and rich sporting heritage to reject the planning application which would lead to the loss of one of the most iconic sports stadiums in the country. In the – hopefully unlikely - event that Rugby Borough Council might be persuaded to look favourably on residential development on the site of Brandon Stadium, the Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign would strongly urge the current planning application to be refused, with the applicant being advised that they should only re-apply subject to the obligation to provide an alternative replacement stadium of comparable quality being proposed for consideration in tandem. Finally, we note that Rugby Borough Council’s Corporate Strategy 2017-20 strapline is ‘Proud of our past, fit for the future.’ We respectfully call upon them to apply this principle when making their decision on this planning application. ENDS

I have this book on my kindle and have read it several times. Kenny was not everyone's cup of tea and yes he had his demons. He also had a belief that he knew he could beat every other rider he came up against and second place to him in a race was like coming last. He also had an opinion on most things speedway and called it as he saw it and this alone turned many people against him, BUT to me all these things make a great speedway rider. One things for sure when he pulled on an England vest he was a proud man and in every race he had you could virtually see the red, white and blue pulsing through his veins.

The thing is Geoff he tries to come across as the Poole speedway spokesman and that does most of the Poole fans a disservice the Poole fans i have met are all decent chaps.The thing i could never get my head around was that he was once a Swindon fan then changed his mind and changed clubs if Swindon finished bottom every year they will always be my club.

But youre cheating you have 4 of them

Good Luck

RICHARD Clark succeeded me as Editor of SS early in 1996! Andrew Skeels has been on the staff since 1983. Since 1996 I have been both Managing Editor and Managing Director and the majority shareholder in Pinegen Limited, publishers of Speedway Star, so my responsibilities are much wider than the editorial content of the mag. We are committed to further improving the mag and Andrew (or Scunny as he is affectionately known, hailing from Scunthorpe and being a massive fan of the town's soccer and speedway clubs) is the person to drive it forward at a very challenging time with speedway attendances, and hence our potential readership, dwindling.

Sverre Harrfeldt has by far the best record of any Norwegian rider.

Shocking! Been watching at home and looks like being directed by a 5 year old. Missed so many of the passenger and exciting parts of the racing. Also don't understand the constant close ups of Debbie Hancock.... Not relevant and certainly not attractive