SteelShoe

A group recently occupied a site by Workington harbour side which has planning permission for houses. The rubbish they left behind was disgraceful and included multiple empty gas cylinders, garden waste /tree cuttings, multiple burst black bags containing all sorts of waste debris, building waste and a large tyre. They just seem immune to prosecution.

they've all got a honours degree in fly tipping

Costa Del Oldside playground of the rich and famous ! if only.

think we all know which way is which Geoff !

Oldside (Northside) was one of the sites evaluated for the New Stadium, badly marked down on user attractiveness and regeneration value for this purpose. The biggest issue with the training track site is security, hidden away in the trees in a secluded location leaves it open to theft and vandalism from which it has historically suffered. Would need top security fence and plenty of razor wire for sure. Would be better if it was more out in the open in close proximity to a frequently used road.

Not solely the reason for dwindling attendances but a valid point none the less. New facilities can be a catalyst for better attendance, the new leisure centre backs this up but it must be used in an intelligent manner to maximise potential and to be fair i think the business case goes a long way towards this.

Its not level either singy and needs further work. It has flooded twice now in the areas it always has, has it been rushed ?. Storm Miguel is due saturday see how much water it holds after this. It hasn't been seeded yet for obvious reasons so its got to be running behind schedule.

These are all good valid points Derwent and i'm all for bringing this part of the world into the 21st century. Thirty million pounds is a lot of cash but perhaps Real Madrid put it into perspective by looking to fork out eighty eight million for Eden Hazard rising to potentially twice that with add ons ??? now that is silly money.

This has been discussed in this thread Loose Diamond and THJ has outlined what is required the main facilitators being a promoter and a council willing to help. If we have the first then i'm really hopeful we would have the second.

well if there is any justice one of the Comets fans will have a big lottery win !

Possibly may not go ahead at all Geoff.

For the track not to be destroyed so that there is a possibility of someone taking it on. Looking in it appears that the opportunity has been seized to make sure that doesn't happen. Even the armoured electric cable around the track that powered the red lights has been severed in multiple places.

Yeah we all know about the rent agreement Derwent it helped keep Town solvent for many years just like the food and bar takings from the Speedway , not so much a symbiotic relationship then. Comets did have a very difficult 2018 financially due in part to circumstances outside their control but i doubt very much whether Town are in a financially cosy position. No doubt they will exercise their right to charge the Reds to play at DP in order to make up for the income they will lose from the Speedway . I'm a Town supporter so are some other Speedway Fans but what they have done to the track is making me consider not going again i'm so incensed. They have botched the place up for no great reason other than to try and get themselves a new pitch and changing rooms before the poop its the fan.

The Council hold the Freehold for both sites and lease DP to Town under two separate leases dated 15th October 1956 and 7th April 1961, these are co-terminus and expire on July 2nd 2154.

Not a bad hunch seen as the new executive may well not proceed with the Community Stadium. In the event of this happening would you be pleased to see the track vandalism put right and returned to fit for purpose ?

Right on the money Lord Lucan !!

Agreed on Allerdale's ambition and i too want the stadium to go ahead. I'm not bleating about the shale or the boards per se, its the bigger picture of track demolition including the attempted break up of the slag sub base. Surely for this to happen someone somewhere must have decreed that speedway will never again take place at Derwent Park. I'm appealing for some openness and honesty from an official source about what the bigger picture is and where the Comets now fit into that.

Big miss for the Tigers if Rasser is missing , goes well at the EWR.

Which deal is Allerdale supposed to have offered ? It was a separate commercial enterprise that put money into the Town coffers for many years ! The rent was only reduced because of the fine man Dave Bowden was. Why would the Reds put £70k (based on the £100K reportedly quoted in the local press) into the work at DP when just this week they have said they won't be going anywhere until the Community Stadium situation is clarified. Today was the day talks were supposed to be held between Council/Reds. A change of council in Penrith has resulted in a major project agreed by the previous administration being shelved; it could happen again although I hope it doesn't and £70K is half way to what Reds require for safety work. Where would Reds have played if the Comets had of been running this season ? Would Town have evicted them ?

If anyone wants to contact the new Allerdale executive to express their feelings and insist that all available help should be forthcoming (land, financial and infrastructure) should there be an initiative by any group or individual to run Speedway in Workington then here are the relevant e-mail addresses of the new executive members . You may also want to lobby your own councillors. marion.fitzgerald@allerdale.gov.uk (leader) mark.jenkinson@allerdale.gov.uk (dep leader) Portfolio for Economic Growth inc Tourism mike.johnson@allerdale.gov.uk Portfolio for Corporate Resources paul.scott@allerdale.gov.uk Portfolio for Transformation. george.kemp@allerdale.gov.uk Portfolio for Environmental Quality stephen.stoddart@allerdale.gov.uk Portfolio for Housing, Health & Wellbeing john.cook@allerdale.gov.uk Portfolio for Governance and People Resources Up the Comets !!

I was looking over the business case for the new stadium on the Allerdale website and it states that Town are free to charge the Reds to play on Derwent Park ! That same business case doesn't make one reference to the Comets!! Shame on you Allerdale !!

Bit of a setback for the new pitch operations, work was halted because it turned into an extension of siddick pond on Friday. ! Doesn't look that level through a trained eye like mine either. Some of the fence boards have gone missing now, more handy work by the track butchers !!

I doubt anyone 'invests ' in speedway comet49. The days when promoters may have been confident of making some money seem to have gone at present, hopefully this will change because it would increase the number of potential people who would be willing to take a chance. I think a lot of people who are in a position to put money into sports clubs do so because they are fans doesn't necessarily mean that they have to haemorrhage money though. I just think it would be a great shame if league speedway was lost to Workington and I'm sure I'm not alone with those sentiments. Hopefully it only needs a catalyst to start the fire. Up the Comets ! When you look at both Town and Reds the officials and the club sponsors are almost exclusively local, what's the difference?. Can a squad of semi pro rugby league players plus coaching staff be cheaper to finance than 7 speedway riders ? , the rumours are the previous coach alone was on £40K a year.

What you say about the lifespan of both is probably on the money. The age of these stadia 1937 Reds; 1950 Town without adequate maintenance means replacement is long overdue so replacement is probably the right option at this time but they need to make provision for speedway somewhere regardless of whether or not the previous promotion have the necessary finance. Its only right in my eyes that they make it attractive for any potentially interested parties who have the vision and determination to bring the Comets back.

i think in the short term nothing, longer term i don't know. If financial problems hadn't precluded Comets running in 2019 then in the absence of any other current option it would have been their home certainly for the next 2 years and probably longer. Bearing this in mind then, the extent of damage that has subsequently been done to the track is way different to what would have happened if Comets had been running in 2019. The question is then, what has/ or is going on for Town to change the scope of work to the extent where they have probably precluded speedway ever being run there again ???. Town are the ones with least to lose here because even if the Community Stadium doesn't happen then they have got a brand new pitch costing circa £100K and got rid of Speedway . On the face of it that is very poor form indeed and unless there is another plan (i'm dreaming on THJ) then its nothing short of dispicable by all parties concerned.