What about Northampton?

[Nickinho]

Northampton is a great example that setting up a speedway club isn't like planning a space mission to Mars it actually can be done without too much fuss if most of the infrastructure is in place. It reminds me of Linlithgow in the 90s and how a local garage owner built a track on a plot of land and before you knew it a hundred fans were attending each week. Granted, the racing so great, as it was even below the modern day NDL level but it was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. If a local farmer can be convinced to part with one of their many fields and are paid a small monthly fee, a lot of them would probably jump at the chance of an easy income and piecemeal set-ups like Linlithgow and Redcar can start to come into existence. After all, farmers are always complaining how farming generates no income at all now so why not open these kinds of dialogues?  

Edited March 9 by Nickinho

[heathen52]

22 minutes ago, Nickinho said:

Northampton is a great example that setting up a speedway club isn't like planning a space mission to Mars it actually can be done without too much fuss if most of the infrastructure is in place. It reminds me of Linlithgow in the 90s and how a local garage owner built a track on a plot of land and before you knew it a hundred fans were attending each week. Granted, the racing so great, as it was even below the modern day NDL level but it was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. If a local farmer can be convinced to part with one of their many fields and are paid a small monthly fee, a lot of them would probably jump at the chance of an easy income and piecemeal set-ups like Linlithgow and Redcar can start to come into existence. After all, farmers are always complaining how farming generates no income at all now so why not open these kinds of dialogues?  

With regards your reference to Linlithgow, this is what Next Generation Heathens are attempting to do with Cradley Heathens, however whilst the local farmer has agreed to them having a field, the relevant local authority are proving to be rather more difficult with regards to giving the PP, I would think the chances of them progressing have very little chance of succeeding, Councils simply do not want Speedway.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

45 minutes ago, heathen52 said:

With regards your reference to Linlithgow, this is what Next Generation Heathens are attempting to do with Cradley Heathens, however whilst the local farmer has agreed to them having a field, the relevant local authority are proving to be rather more difficult with regards to giving the PP, I would think the chances of them progressing have very little chance of succeeding, Councils simply do not want Speedway.

HNG have many locations on the go at the moment not just rocky lane, I’ve been with them to view 4 over the last few weeks, the effort alone deserves success at at already one of them and if it doesn’t get success at any then the councils are 100% to blame, imo 3 of the 5 are ideal locations and seem to tick the right boxes,one was ideal but not big enough and the other was too close to houses 

Edited March 9 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Fromafar]

1 hour ago, heathen52 said:

With regards your reference to Linlithgow, this is what Next Generation Heathens are attempting to do with Cradley Heathens, however whilst the local farmer has agreed to them having a field, the relevant local authority are proving to be rather more difficult with regards to giving the PP, I would think the chances of them progressing have very little chance of succeeding, Councils simply do not want Speedway.

Don’t know where Heathens farmers land is located,but Linlithgow track was in “ the middle of nowhere “.Was never going to be developed into permanent stadium.IMO.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

42 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Don’t know where Heathens farmers land is located,but Linlithgow track was in “ the middle of nowhere “.Was never going to be developed into permanent stadium.IMO.

It’s now an abattoir 

[SPEEDY69]

11 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

It’s now an abattoir 

Shame, only rode there once but it seemed a nice little track.

[HackneyHawk]

On 3/7/2026 at 11:50 AM, RoundTheBoards said:

Going twos up on Agnetha does have a bit more appeal than with Charles Wright.

do your mum and dad know you're on the internet unsupervised?

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

19 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Shame, only rode there once but it seemed a nice little track.

I loved it, rode there many times, always well prepared 

[heathen52]

20 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

HNG have many locations on the go at the moment not just rocky lane, I’ve been with them to view 4 over the last few weeks, the effort alone deserves success at at already one of them and if it doesn’t get success at any then the councils are 100% to blame, imo 3 of the 5 are ideal locations and seem to tick the right boxes,one was ideal but not big enough and the other was too close to houses 

Deanno, what do we consider to be to close to houses ? surely BV is close to houses but it is something the council wanted so it was allowed, surely if something improves the area as a whole then it can be put forward for outline planning permission ?, discounting farmers fields i am aware of pretty much 99.9% of sites around Cradley Heath obviously their is no ideal site otherwise it would have been found by now, ideally a track share with Wolves would be ideal and if a site was big enough a track within a track could be the way to track share (the inside track for Wolves), The Lion Farm site just off Junction 2 of the M5 would have been ideal for a project such as that, but again the local council prefer to let the site become more and more run down before it eventually becomes uneconomic to repair and will be sold off to developers, in the meantime they refuse to lease the site and receive an annual rental income which could have been be reinvested.

 

 

Edited March 10 by heathen52

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 hour ago, heathen52 said:

Deanno, what do we consider to be to close to houses ? surely BV is close to houses but it is something the council wanted so it was allowed, surely if something improves the area as a whole then it can be put forward for outline planning permission ?, discounting farmers fields i am aware of pretty much 99.9% of sites around Cradley Heath obviously their is no ideal site otherwise it would have been found by now, ideally a track share with Wolves would be ideal and if a site was big enough a track within a track could be the way to track share (the inside track for Wolves), The Lion Farm site just off Junction 2 of the M5 would have been ideal for a project such as that, but again the local council prefer to let the site become more and more run down before it eventually becomes uneconomic to repair and will be sold off to developers, in the meantime they refuse to lease the site and receive an annual rental income which could have been be reinvested.

 

 

The site I was referring to is close to cradley heath but houses are literally 100yards from edge of land, the rocky lane site is perfect in every aspect but the council for whatever reason don’t seem keen to have it there, 3 other sites have potential but are 5 miles from cradley but one especially has a very major plus going for it but dealing with councils is a drag, it can be weeks/months be for you get a reply, we contacted entain about a track share to run wolves on a Monday and cradley on a Wednesday but they said not at this time(whatever that means) ? 

[edmon]

21 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

It’s now an abattoir 

It is no longer an abattoir. It is a meat and fish wholesale supplier.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Back to Northampton, announce they running and then silence again, what a strange way to conduct a business 

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

37 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Back to Northampton, announce they running and then silence again, what a strange way to conduct a business 

I agree - I'm all for a bit of patience but was expecting something within 48 hours of the announcement/fixture release

[Teromaafan]

27 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Back to Northampton, announce they running and then silence again, what a strange way to conduct a business 

Whoever is control of media/marketing clearly isn't on it. The season starts next month and we don't know who the owners are, the riders they've signed, team nickname or team colours. They are going to need to get every man and his dog they can get through the turnstiles to give this venture a chance. They need to look outside the current speedway bubble for interest. Supporters of other teams will visit the track initially for the novelty, but a core fan base is essential for it to be sustainable.

[therefused]

59 minutes ago, Teromaafan said:

Whoever is control of media/marketing clearly isn't on it. The season starts next month and we don't know who the owners are, the riders they've signed, team nickname or team colours. They are going to need to get every man and his dog they can get through the turnstiles to give this venture a chance. They need to look outside the current speedway bubble for interest. Supporters of other teams will visit the track initially for the novelty, but a core fan base is essential for it to be sustainable.

shh everything is all hunky dory because there is a new track. 

[Hamish McRaker]

17 minutes ago, therefused said:

shh everything is all hunky dory because there is a new track. 

'If you build it, they will come" (Field of Dreams). And to be fair, they did. 

[Neila]

1 hour ago, Teromaafan said:

Whoever is control of media/marketing clearly isn't on it.

Probably the top table in British speedway are in charge, that's why nothing been announced bar a new track.

[Lefty]

Could The PL / GP supremo be looking for a "Major Hose-Pipe" manufacturer to come on board as a main sponsor, with the vision of major TV coverage in the future? ☂️😃

[heathen52]

3 hours ago, Teromaafan said:

Whoever is control of media/marketing clearly isn't on it. The season starts next month and we don't know who the owners are, the riders they've signed, team nickname or team colours. They are going to need to get every man and his dog they can get through the turnstiles to give this venture a chance. They need to look outside the current speedway bubble for interest. Supporters of other teams will visit the track initially for the novelty, but a core fan base is essential for it to be sustainable.

This is a classic example of how NOT to Promote, I have banged on for years about owner/promoters of Speedway teams have little or no idea what the word promote means let alone actually do some, is their an actual promoter involved ? because if so he/she needs to pull their finger out, the BSPL needs to get on the phone to Barry Bishop and eat some humble pie he is what is needed, not someone like Phil Morris who appears to have done little or nothing since he has been involved at the BSPL, or any of the other so called promotors.

[mikebv]

6 minutes ago, heathen52 said:

This is a classic example of how NOT to Promote, I have banged on for years about owner/promoters of Speedway teams have little or no idea what the word promote means let alone actually do some, is their an actual promoter involved ? because if so he/she needs to pull their finger out, the BSPL needs to get on the phone to Barry Bishop and eat some humble pie he is what is needed, not someone like Phil Morris who appears to have done little or nothing since he has been involved at the BSPL, or any of the other so called promotors.

To be successful in promotions and marketing, you need to have a certain skill set, and a workable budget...

UK Speedway has never bothered with bringing in professionals under that remit...

Instead, going it alone and doing what they think is best has been the plan...

However, you can have the world's best product, but if not enough people know what you sell, or even who you are, then the plan isn't going to work..

Paying out for two GP riders at one and five must cost circa £7k a night, and maybe more?

So circa £14k for the home and away matches needs to be paid out, using admission income and/or sponsorship...

I would suggest paying for just ONE GP rider and using that other £7k, each home meeting, to market your GP Star, the rest of the team, and getting your name known locally, would bring far greater rewards...