Peterborough Panthers 2023

[Mick Bratley]

On 11/19/2025 at 9:03 PM, gazz 50s said:

Peterborough are holding an evening with night on Friday 21st November hosted by Craig Saul with SCB Chairman and former referee Jim Lawrence Danny King and Ritche Hawkins. For tickets message Katy Lewis on the Peterborough Panthers Supporters Club Facebook page 

Tickets not needed, just rock up!

[gjcone44]

thats the ticket.

[Mick Bratley]

The event has now taken on enormous significance with the news just in.

[TTT]

Panthers back with Hawkins as TM?

[Lurcher]

any updates from the meeting?

 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

Did Richie & Danny have much to say last night?

[Pitch]

I was there last night, only the fact that Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins had stepped down got mentioned at the beginning, then Ritchie and Danny King went on to say how sad they were etc. But definitely no revelations as to why it had happened. They were keeping very shtum about it.

[Pitch]

15 hours ago, Lurcher said:

any updates from the meeting?

 

 

3 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Did Richie & Danny have much to say last night?

I was there last night, only the fact that Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins had stepped down got mentioned at the beginning, then Ritchie and Danny King went on to say how sad they were etc. But definitely no revelations as to why it had happened. They were keeping very shtum about it.

[LagutaRacingFan]

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/other-sport/peterborough-panthers-set-to-look-for-new-home-in-the-city-as-the-battle-for-survival-continues-5428621

I feel like this is the end of the road.

The chances of building a new speedway track in Peterborough are close to zero, especially in the current economic climate.

Very sad.

[Haza]

17 minutes ago, LagutaRacingFan said:

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/other-sport/peterborough-panthers-set-to-look-for-new-home-in-the-city-as-the-battle-for-survival-continues-5428621

I feel like this is the end of the road.

The chances of building a new speedway track in Peterborough are close to zero, especially in the current economic climate.

Very sad.

Can’t fault the efforts of anyone trying to get speedway back at the Showground but it’s turned out two years wasted if the end result was always going to be a new home - it’s very sad situation speedway could have continued the last two seasons and had there been more enthusiasm from Chapman who knows what could have happened . Hopefully a new site can be found but not sure where the money is coming from to fund it on what is a 1000 fans 

[noaksey]

Chances of land owners changing their minds are few and far between

Every Oxford is seriously outnumbered by those that don't 

Fair play to the Save Panthers group though for a great effort and whilst the site is undeveloped (as with Brandon, Monmore, Newcastle) hope however small remains

[noaksey]

"

Edited 15 hours ago by noaksey

[IainB]

Now the tenants are out, it's best for land owners to keep it that way. The provision of an alternative venue for Panthers to run at as contained in the NPPF and Local Plans has not really helped Coventry in the last 10 years.

It's going to be another long haul

Edited 15 hours ago by IainB

[Crump99]

5 hours ago, LagutaRacingFan said:

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/other-sport/peterborough-panthers-set-to-look-for-new-home-in-the-city-as-the-battle-for-survival-continues-5428621

I feel like this is the end of the road.

The chances of building a new speedway track in Peterborough are close to zero, especially in the current economic climate.

 

---

Just to add some clarity to the article, because the coverage doesn’t really reflect what was actually said.

Forever Panthers haven’t “given up” on the Showground or accepted that Speedway has no future there. The company simply reported that the current landowner has indicated they don’t plan to reopen the site for events — but that is not the final word, and it’s certainly not the end of the conversation.

The important point missing from the article is this:

👉 Speedway and the Showground remain protected under national and local planning policies.
This isn’t something that can just be ignored or written off.

Forever Panthers are still actively exploring all options, including those policy protections, and they’re engaging with the council, partners and the wider community. That’s the reality behind the press release.

So while “looking for a new home” makes a neat headline, it leaves out the actual context:
the fight isn’t over, the policy protections still exist, and the Showground hasn’t suddenly become an impossible venue.

Fans should stay encouraged — the release was positive, measured and focused on solutions, even if the reporting didn’t quite capture that.

Just to be clear, the press release and the coverage aren’t quite aligned. Anyone familiar with Speedway — including people like Peter Oakes, who understands both the club and the sport (and I’m pretty sure that Paul Grinnell was named on the first copy) — would know that the situation is more nuanced than “Panthers looking for a new home.”
The intention was to update supporters honestly without closing the door on the Showground, especially given the planning policy protections that still apply.

Edited 11 hours ago by Crump99

[IainB]

3 minutes ago, Crump99 said:

---

Just to add some clarity to the article, because the coverage doesn’t really reflect what was actually said.

Forever Panthers haven’t “given up” on the Showground or accepted that Speedway has no future there. The company simply reported that the current landowner has indicated they don’t plan to reopen the site for events — but that is not the final word, and it’s certainly not the end of the conversation.

The important point missing from the article is this:

👉 Speedway and the Showground remain protected under national and local planning policies.
This isn’t something that can just be ignored or written off.

Forever Panthers are still actively exploring all options, including those policy protections, and they’re engaging with the council, partners and the wider community. That’s the reality behind the press release.

So while “looking for a new home” makes a neat headline, it leaves out the actual context:
the fight isn’t over, the policy protections still exist, and the Showground hasn’t suddenly become an impossible venue.

Fans should stay encouraged — the release was positive, measured and focused on solutions, even if the reporting didn’t quite capture that.

Just to be clear, the press release and the coverage aren’t quite aligned. Anyone familiar with Speedway — including people like Peter Oakes, who understands both the club and the sport — would know that the situation is more nuanced than “Panthers looking for a new home.”
The intention was to update supporters honestly without closing the door on the Showground, especially given the planning policy protections that still apply.

The NPPF is just that though a policy framework, I don't know if it's legally binding, does the Coventry decision make it legally binding. Policies can change easily and 10 years of policy seem to have been ignored at Coventry. 

Can see this one going to the courts again. 

[Crump99]

1 hour ago, IainB said:

The NPPF is just that though a policy framework, I don't know if it's legally binding, does the Coventry decision make it legally binding. Policies can change easily and 10 years of policy seem to have been ignored at Coventry. 

Can see this one going to the courts again. 

The NPPF isn’t a statute in itself, but it is a material consideration in planning decisions and carries real weight. Local Plans sit underneath it, and the Local Plan is legally binding policy once adopted. In Peterborough’s case, Speedway/Showground protection exists in both national policy and the adopted Local Plan, which is a very different position to somewhere like Coventry.

Coventry’s situation was complicated because of the long period without activity, gaps in their local policy wording, and the way the stadium and land were allowed to deteriorate while decisions dragged on. It wasn’t a simple case of “the NPPF was ignored” – it was a mix of timing, inactivity and local circumstances.

It’s true that the draft new Local Plan is expected to remove the Speedway/Showground protections, but the current plan remains legally binding until a new one is formally adopted. A draft plan doesn’t override anything. Even if the new plan proposes removing the protections, that isn’t automatic — it still has to go through consultation, objections and an independent Planning Inspector, who can (and often does) reinstate policies if the council can’t justify removing them.

And even looking ahead to 2026, it’s not a hard deadline. Protections don’t suddenly disappear — the existing Local Plan remains in force until the new one is actually adopted, and the examination process can run well beyond 2026. So the current policies remain usable for far longer than the headline dates suggest.

Whether anything ends up in court is impossible to predict, but the core point remains:
the protections exist, they carry weight, and they haven’t disappeared simply because the landowner or a headline prefers another outcome.