Brandon Update

[ONTWOMINUTES]

This topic got a mention on Ken bruces pop master earlier today. 

[adonis]

https://www.visordown.com/news/lifeline-brandon-stadium-council-protects-land?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawJ8ug5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBmaGl1aGp3Mk1XZURpdENDAR5hblNqkMvQnEMF26Y0hWulHRYi4pIHWdjrT7Fr8MlMa4ThM_1WWkQonjRs9Q_aem_dtx-U8am8yghF3guWUsjNQ#Echobox=1745538152

[Gambo]

Latest Press Release from Save Coventry Speedway & Stox.

AS the Rugby Local Plan consultation continues, the Save Coventry Speedway & Stox Campaign Group are pleased to reveal details of the Consortium seeking to take over Brandon Stadium and restore it for motorsports use.
As will be detailed below, the Consortium have already had several meetings with the Campaign Group, along with both parties having formally met with senior representatives from Rugby Borough Council on two occasions this year.
To provide some brief background to the current position, after Rugby Council’s Planning Committee unanimously refused Brandon Estates’ planning application, that decision was upheld by an independent Government-appointed Planning Inspector following a public inquiry. With that decision confirmed in January 2024, the owners had a period of six weeks in which to issue a legal challenge.
When this was not forthcoming, the Campaign Group turned its attention to the ways in which we could transition from the necessary process of opposing planning, to focusing on the pathway towards the restoring of the stadium and the return of motorsports, assuming of course that control of the venue can be secured.
The speedway side of the equation was already in place as Matt Ford, the sport’s most successful promoter over a period of two decades, has declared his wish to promote Coventry Bees and had given evidence at the public inquiry.
However, we have always been clear that the ongoing sustainability of Brandon is dependent on speedway and stock car racing operating in tandem, and on that basis it was crucial that we secured a stock car promoter.
There are only five promoters of BriSCA Formula 1 stock car racing in the UK, and these promoters own all the dates on which meetings can take place. Those dates are then allocated to the venues at which those promoters operate.
Over spring 2024 we therefore reached out to various parties who we felt may have an interest in being involved, with an initial meeting taking place in the boardroom at Nationwide Windows and Doors in Rugby last July.
Further meetings and communication with the Leader of Rugby Council, Michael Moran, followed until the Consortium was formally established at a hotel in Manchester in January 2025.
The Campaign Group have continued to work closely with the Consortium in order to facilitate meetings and provide the local knowledge required, but by the same token the Consortium is also acting independently in terms of the professional and legal work needed to push things forward.
The Consortium members are as follows:
GRAEME ROBSON: Based in the North-East and the owner of G & T Robson Agricultural Buildings, undertaking earthworks, fittings, plumbing and electrical work, and erecting around 12 buildings a year. He also recently manufactured the new 1,000-seat grandstand at Skegness Raceway.
RUSSELL ANDREW: Based in Buxton and owner/director of freight transport company RR Andrew Ltd, concrete manufacturing company Kwik Mix UK Ltd, and three coach transport companies. He also has a working farm of approximately 150 acres.
Mr Robson and Mr Andrew are promoters of all forms of stock car racing, including BriSCA Formula 1, under the Yorstox name, and are currently operational at Odsal Stadium, Bradford.
LYNDON RUSHBY: Based in Staffordshire, and owner of Rushby Developments for the leasing of commercial property, and Jones Biomass which dries material for production into environmentally friendly wood fuel briquettes. Last year Mr Rushby sold one of his companies, Jones Skip Hire (Wolverhampton) Ltd in a multi-million-pound deal, and he sought to purchase Birmingham Wheels Park, which was subsequently sold to Birmingham City FC.
WARREN HUNTER: Based in Preston, and Managing Director of Huntapac Ltd with a turnover of approximately £55m/year growing, harvesting, processing and distributing root vegetables to major supermarkets. Mr Hunter had already made an approach to purchase Brandon Stadium prior to being known to the Campaign Group, and he made a formal offer in May 2020, before appearing as a witness at the public inquiry.
JOHN WHALLEY: Locally based in Rugby, Mr Whalley is the Managing Director of Nationwide Windows and Doors, one of Rugby’s largest employers, with an annual turnover in 2024 of approximately £46m and forecast to grow to £58m in 2025. Other business interests include Jooced (Jooced Custom Sound and Vision), a cinema and home automaton business undertaking bespoke and tailored installation of high technology products.
We hope that by providing the names and credentials of these individuals, this will give supporters confidence that the dream of restoring Brandon for motorsport is underpinned by serious businesspeople who possess not only the financial capability but also the organisational and technical expertise to turn our dream into a reality.
With a business plan in place, all are firmly committed to the vision, and the over-riding reason for their involvement is their passion for motorsport and their desire to see the stadium return to its established use.
Gaining control of the stadium and restoring it for motorsports is not only the outcome desired by tens of thousands of motorsports fans in the area and beyond, but is also the best outcome for local residents who have suffered for nearly a decade whilst the stadium has been left to deteriorate, and the overwhelming majority of the local community, who have also made it clear they do not support housing development.
The Campaign Group and the Consortium recognise the inconvenience and trauma that the closure of the stadium has caused and undertake that on taking control, the first priority would be to secure and tidy up the site.
We have kept Cllr Moran informed throughout the process and place on record our thanks for his proactive stance towards hopefully reaching a solution.
From the outset of our talks with Cllr Moran, he has insisted on a dispassionate, professional approach to resolving this longstanding issue. We have been fully content to proceed on this basis, and we have continued to furnish him and his team with information regarding our and the Consortium’s aspirations and intentions. 
We urge supporters to continue to contact the Council with their messages of support for Local Plan policy item W1(B) which seeks to provide full protection for the stadium.
Please e-mail your messages to localplan@rugby.gov.uk with ‘Preferred Option Consultation’ in the subject line; or responses can be sent by post to: Preferred Option Consultation, Development Strategy Team, Town Hall, Evreux Way, Rugby, CV21 2RR. Whichever option you choose, you must include your name and address. Responses must be received by Monday May 19.

[IainB]

35 minutes ago, Gambo said:

Latest Press Release from Save Coventry Speedway & Stox.

AS the Rugby Local Plan consultation continues, the Save Coventry Speedway & Stox Campaign Group are pleased to reveal details of the Consortium seeking to take over Brandon Stadium and restore it for motorsports use.
As will be detailed below, the Consortium have already had several meetings with the Campaign Group, along with both parties having formally met with senior representatives from Rugby Borough Council on two occasions this year.
To provide some brief background to the current position, after Rugby Council’s Planning Committee unanimously refused Brandon Estates’ planning application, that decision was upheld by an independent Government-appointed Planning Inspector following a public inquiry. With that decision confirmed in January 2024, the owners had a period of six weeks in which to issue a legal challenge.
When this was not forthcoming, the Campaign Group turned its attention to the ways in which we could transition from the necessary process of opposing planning, to focusing on the pathway towards the restoring of the stadium and the return of motorsports, assuming of course that control of the venue can be secured.
The speedway side of the equation was already in place as Matt Ford, the sport’s most successful promoter over a period of two decades, has declared his wish to promote Coventry Bees and had given evidence at the public inquiry.
However, we have always been clear that the ongoing sustainability of Brandon is dependent on speedway and stock car racing operating in tandem, and on that basis it was crucial that we secured a stock car promoter.
There are only five promoters of BriSCA Formula 1 stock car racing in the UK, and these promoters own all the dates on which meetings can take place. Those dates are then allocated to the venues at which those promoters operate.
Over spring 2024 we therefore reached out to various parties who we felt may have an interest in being involved, with an initial meeting taking place in the boardroom at Nationwide Windows and Doors in Rugby last July.
Further meetings and communication with the Leader of Rugby Council, Michael Moran, followed until the Consortium was formally established at a hotel in Manchester in January 2025.
The Campaign Group have continued to work closely with the Consortium in order to facilitate meetings and provide the local knowledge required, but by the same token the Consortium is also acting independently in terms of the professional and legal work needed to push things forward.
The Consortium members are as follows:
GRAEME ROBSON: Based in the North-East and the owner of G & T Robson Agricultural Buildings, undertaking earthworks, fittings, plumbing and electrical work, and erecting around 12 buildings a year. He also recently manufactured the new 1,000-seat grandstand at Skegness Raceway.
RUSSELL ANDREW: Based in Buxton and owner/director of freight transport company RR Andrew Ltd, concrete manufacturing company Kwik Mix UK Ltd, and three coach transport companies. He also has a working farm of approximately 150 acres.
Mr Robson and Mr Andrew are promoters of all forms of stock car racing, including BriSCA Formula 1, under the Yorstox name, and are currently operational at Odsal Stadium, Bradford.
LYNDON RUSHBY: Based in Staffordshire, and owner of Rushby Developments for the leasing of commercial property, and Jones Biomass which dries material for production into environmentally friendly wood fuel briquettes. Last year Mr Rushby sold one of his companies, Jones Skip Hire (Wolverhampton) Ltd in a multi-million-pound deal, and he sought to purchase Birmingham Wheels Park, which was subsequently sold to Birmingham City FC.
WARREN HUNTER: Based in Preston, and Managing Director of Huntapac Ltd with a turnover of approximately £55m/year growing, harvesting, processing and distributing root vegetables to major supermarkets. Mr Hunter had already made an approach to purchase Brandon Stadium prior to being known to the Campaign Group, and he made a formal offer in May 2020, before appearing as a witness at the public inquiry.
JOHN WHALLEY: Locally based in Rugby, Mr Whalley is the Managing Director of Nationwide Windows and Doors, one of Rugby’s largest employers, with an annual turnover in 2024 of approximately £46m and forecast to grow to £58m in 2025. Other business interests include Jooced (Jooced Custom Sound and Vision), a cinema and home automaton business undertaking bespoke and tailored installation of high technology products.
We hope that by providing the names and credentials of these individuals, this will give supporters confidence that the dream of restoring Brandon for motorsport is underpinned by serious businesspeople who possess not only the financial capability but also the organisational and technical expertise to turn our dream into a reality.
With a business plan in place, all are firmly committed to the vision, and the over-riding reason for their involvement is their passion for motorsport and their desire to see the stadium return to its established use.
Gaining control of the stadium and restoring it for motorsports is not only the outcome desired by tens of thousands of motorsports fans in the area and beyond, but is also the best outcome for local residents who have suffered for nearly a decade whilst the stadium has been left to deteriorate, and the overwhelming majority of the local community, who have also made it clear they do not support housing development.
The Campaign Group and the Consortium recognise the inconvenience and trauma that the closure of the stadium has caused and undertake that on taking control, the first priority would be to secure and tidy up the site.
We have kept Cllr Moran informed throughout the process and place on record our thanks for his proactive stance towards hopefully reaching a solution.
From the outset of our talks with Cllr Moran, he has insisted on a dispassionate, professional approach to resolving this longstanding issue. We have been fully content to proceed on this basis, and we have continued to furnish him and his team with information regarding our and the Consortium’s aspirations and intentions. 
We urge supporters to continue to contact the Council with their messages of support for Local Plan policy item W1(B) which seeks to provide full protection for the stadium.
Please e-mail your messages to localplan@rugby.gov.uk with ‘Preferred Option Consultation’ in the subject line; or responses can be sent by post to: Preferred Option Consultation, Development Strategy Team, Town Hall, Evreux Way, Rugby, CV21 2RR. Whichever option you choose, you must include your name and address. Responses must be received by Monday May 19.

All very laudable and the ducks do very much seem to be in a row, but... There are 2 comments that really need addressing before anything can happen:

"assuming of course that control of the venue can be secured"

"Gaining control of the stadium and restoring it for motorsports"

Sadly, until this issue is addressed and resolved, nothing is going to happen. It would be nice to hear what is happening and what can be done to secure "control of the stadium".

Keep up the good fight 💪

[The White Knight]

Great stuff Gambo. 🙂

Once again - very best wishes for the success of this project. 👍🙂

[R87]

On 5/12/2025 at 10:59 AM, IainB said:

All very laudable and the ducks do very much seem to be in a row, but... There are 2 comments that really need addressing before anything can happen:

"assuming of course that control of the venue can be secured"

"Gaining control of the stadium and restoring it for motorsports"

Sadly, until this issue is addressed and resolved, nothing is going to happen. It would be nice to hear what is happening and what can be done to secure "control of the stadium".

Keep up the good fight 💪

Nothing because it's never going to happen.  The site is not for sale as has been clear by Brandon Estates and even it was, restoration will cost millions- money this group simply doesn't have.

Coventry Speedway is finished whether people want to hear it nor not

[The White Knight]

2 hours ago, R87 said:

Nothing because it's never going to happen.  The site is not for sale as has been clear by Brandon Estates and even it was, restoration will cost millions- money this group simply doesn't have.

Coventry Speedway is finished whether people want to hear it nor not

A very jaundiced view methinks.

Edited 13 hours ago by The White Knight
Spelling etc.

[MattB]

5 hours ago, R87 said:

Nothing because it's never going to happen.  The site is not for sale as has been clear by Brandon Estates and even it was, restoration will cost millions- money this group simply doesn't have.

Coventry Speedway is finished whether people want to hear it nor not

Would love to be with you in the trenches....

[IainB]

1 hour ago, MattB said:

Would love to be with you in the trenches....

Having been a Leicester, Long Eaton and Coventry fan I've heard a lot of BS over the years. As a Wolves fan you're early on your journey to a return and there has already been some false hope. As for the current outbreak of optimism, as I've said before, unless we're not being told something we're in exactly the same place we were a year ago, and until the site is acquired we'll remain in that same position. 

Slightly related, listening to Nigel Tolley on the British Speedway Podcast, some people just cant help themselves coming out with yet more BS!

Edited 8 hours ago by IainB

[RoundTheBoards]

9 hours ago, R87 said:

restoration will cost millions- money this group simply doesn't have.

 

That shows how clueless you are.