Son of Shaleman Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 20 minutes ago, arnieg said: Only required for capacities above 10,000 so this doesn't sound like a plausible reason You may know more on this but don’t local councils have health and safety duties and powers, discharged alongside the HSE? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Shaleman Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 Safety issues confirmed by Eric in a BBC interview - on bbc news website /sussex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnieg Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 1 hour ago, Son of Shaleman said: You may know more on this but don’t local councils have health and safety duties and powers, discharged alongside the HSE? That sounds like it. The example that springs to mind is the closure of the back straight at Sheffield 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toady Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 36 minutes ago, Son of Shaleman said: bbc news website /sussex Fyi riday, 7 August 2026 18:01 Arlington Stadium in Hailsham has officially ended all motor racing events with immediate effect, concluding over 60 years of historic oval-track racing at the venue. The Reason Behind the Cancellation Eric Dugard, the joint owner of Arlington Stadium, stated that the decision stems from ongoing serious infrastructure and health and safety problems affecting both competitors and the public. Critical Fence Issues: The core issue is the necessary replacement of a 600-metre wire mesh safety fence that wraps around the track perimeter to catch flying debris. Insurance Risks: The stadium's insurance provider will not cover the venueagainst potential serious accidents while a proper substitute fence remains uninstalled. Financial Strain: Remedying these issues would require several months and a massive financial cost. The owners, who have already spent over £250,000 on recent upgrades, decided that continuing motor racing is no longer financially viable for the business. The Promoter's Reaction The announcement took race coordinator Spedeworth Motorsports by surprise. They expressed deep disappointment over the abrupt closure, which came less than 24 hours after hosting a highly successful race meeting. The promoter has indicated they will provide an update regarding pre-existing bookings and upcoming ticket details in the coming days. Future of the Venue While motor sports (including historic banger, stock car, and past motorcycle speedway events) have permanent checkered flags, the facility itself may not disappear entirely. The venue owners are actively evaluating future plans and exploring alternative, non-motorsport events that could safely occupy the stadium grounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neila Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 On 8/6/2026 at 9:43 PM, Marky_Mark said: I did read that it can’t be sold for housing as the site is too contaminated, not sure how true that is They said that about the old steel works site in Workington, now 15 years later 200 out of 500 houses have been built Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric i Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 Couldn't speedway run without the 600-metre wire mesh safety fence? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.D Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 On 8/6/2026 at 10:54 PM, Hackett said: 🏘️🏘️🏘️ = 💰💰💰💰💰 Comes as no great surprise once the gates closed on the speedway team and the venue become a one sport stadium, that the next step would be property development or planning permission. Such a shame as the speedway track has great memories for my family and kids BUT since Ian Jordan left the Eagles high and dry this was inevitable just a case of when. Dugard Corner , Norris Way , Kennett Court, Richardson Road. Hey mate, It's not a development issue as stated, the safety certificate has been withdrawn from the stadium. Around 18 months ago planning for an 'eco village' was turned down and the council made it clear that planning for housing will never be granted on the rural side of the A22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackett Posted August 9 Report Share Posted August 9 On 8/8/2026 at 7:23 AM, M.D said: Hey mate, It's not a development issue as stated, the safety certificate has been withdrawn from the stadium. Around 18 months ago planning for an 'eco village' was turned down and the council made it clear that planning for housing will never be granted on the rural side of the A22. I heard this later this week but with the site laying there as a derelict site and potential security , health and safety issues the Council may say one thing now BUT we all know money tends to dictate and with councils continually looking to find more + more funds and with Wealden District Council reported to have debts of over £53 million that may all change in time, possibly aftera couple of fires or a travellers circus on the site ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyd Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 On 8/8/2026 at 7:23 AM, M.D said: Hey mate, It's not a development issue as stated, the safety certificate has been withdrawn from the stadium. Around 18 months ago planning for an 'eco village' was turned down and the council made it clear that planning for housing will never be granted on the rural side of the A22. Statements like that from councils is about as reliable as the rule book in speedway, time and money talks. I bet a asset company has already started there phone calls offering big bucks and are ready to sit on the land and a slowly dilapidating stadium until the council has further thoughts on the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.D Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 1 hour ago, tonyd said: Statements like that from councils is about as reliable as the rule book in speedway, time and money talks. I bet a asset company has already started there phone calls offering big bucks and are ready to sit on the land and a slowly dilapidating stadium until the council has further thoughts on the situation. As much as I agree, and I work in new build Construction, the council will not build on that side of the A22, its rural with lots of stables and no infrastructure in place for the area. Bob Dugard tried many years ago to sell the land for development, it just wont happen IMHO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky_Mark Posted 20 hours ago Report Share Posted 20 hours ago Arlington has been saved!! Spedeworth have taken a full lease of the stadium from the Dugard’s and will invest to do all of the remedial work required to reopen. Given that Spedeworth are friendly landlords of speedway at the likes of Northampton and Mildenhall, surely this is a great chance for speedway to return at Eastbourne 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric i Posted 20 hours ago Report Share Posted 20 hours ago If Spedeworth are responsible for stadium repairs/investment it must be a long lease. Got to be a good chance now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midlandred Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago Potentially great news!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midlandred Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago Potentially great news!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyd Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago 1 hour ago, Marky_Mark said: Arlington has been saved!! Spedeworth have taken a full lease of the stadium from the Dugard’s and will invest to do all of the remedial work required to reopen. Given that Spedeworth are friendly landlords of speedway at the likes of Northampton and Mildenhall, surely this is a great chance for speedway to return at Eastbourne Deane Wood of Spedeworh seems very much a general motor sport fan and a business man, If the right people approached him regarding speedway we could possibly see it return to Arlington sometime next year. I don't know if he has the full lease at Ipswitch but speedway runs alongside Spedeworth there, Mildenhall and Northampton and if Arlington got added to the list there could be a nice partnership in the making. 🤞👍 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noaksey Posted 14 hours ago Report Share Posted 14 hours ago 4 hours ago, tonyd said: Deane Wood of Spedeworh seems very much a general motor sport fan and a business man, If the right people approached him regarding speedway we could possibly see it return to Arlington sometime next year. I don't know if he has the full lease at Ipswitch but speedway runs alongside Spedeworth there, Mildenhall and Northampton and if Arlington got added to the list there could be a nice partnership in the making. 🤞👍 Depends if the lease he has signed allows him to sublet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toady Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 10 hours ago, noaksey said: Depends if the lease he has signed allows him to sublet After investing so much in restoring their unusable stadium it would seem reasonable to expect him to have insisted on that option to recoup some of his investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 31 minutes ago, Toady said: After investing so much in restoring their unusable stadium it would seem reasonable to expect him to have insisted on that option to recoup some of his investment. £500k of work needed was quoted in the Speedway Star..... You would think, say £3k to £5k rent from the Speedway each meeting, a fair nunber of times per season, would make it much more viable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HGould Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 22 minutes ago, mikebv said: £500k of work needed was quoted in the Speedway Star..... You would think, say £3k to £5k rent from the Speedway each meeting, a fair nunber of times per season, would make it much more viable... Having read an excellent "History of" book written about 20 years ago by Ken Burnett and with facts and figures from then and since it would seem that when run by the Dugards - Bob would write-off around £30-50k a year on the family hobby. The Book also details 3 or 4 outside promoters prior to the early 2000's that suffered losses of up to £100k a year and similar ultimate outcome to the most recent one that closed in 2021 , none outside the family control and Company business to bale it out each season lasted more than 3 seasons. One of the issues for leasors of the stadium always seems to have been absolutely no income from food and drink etc which keeps some tracks safe from closure Spedeworth are great benefactors of motor sport but I'd be pretty sure that some sort of deal has been done to ensure Spedeworth get the benefits or some benefits of the Bars and Catering, especially if they are paying to fix them. So Speedway would presumably continue not to benefit from that income stream? The average CL attendences seemed to be at best around 1000, NDL about 500-600 and it's always been a track where PL in the week struggled in the main to attract big crowds, because of the quite large area Crowds are drawn from. You'd think Spedeworth would want to run Cars as many weekends as possible, they seem to run Wednesdays too in the summer, so may be an increase in Stocks and Bangers. PL might be the best option if they can attract the Crowds back. Would Spedeworth consider "Shaleing" the whole place ?, that might actually help Speedway to reduce maintenance and fence erection using the sort of foam based fence at KL which also services Northampton. Is 2027 viable with the huge upgrades needed or is 2028 a more realistic option. At the very least the fact it's back in the game - 4 wheels and hopefully 2 - is very positive news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 2 minutes ago, HGould said: Having read an excellent "History of" book written about 20 years ago by Ken Burnett Excuse me!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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