1 valve

Being mindful of the current proposal regarding a possible new speedway site for Swindon. Did the outcome of the planning refusal/appeal judgment relating to Brandon actually also rule out development of commercial property such as small industrial units and offices on the site?

Well, it could be an argument, as most development in the Green Belt is prohibited, with some exceptions for agriculture and leisure. However, a former landfill site cannot be classed as Green Belt- even if it is currently a "green field".

it was an interesting listen Clearly an opportunity to put a positive Spin on the proposal. But quite easy to see between the lines spoken A few of the concerns I would have. 1. The statement that houses could not be built on the land is wrong. Previous landfill sites require capping and a methane monitoring system to be installed after which house can be built. This extra cost can be prohibitive, hence the lower cost alternative to build commercial properties can be more appealing. 2. The land will still be owned by a third party and the sports operators will need to an annual lease most probably on a monthly basis. Granted, the initial lease could be scaled from initially being very low whilst the facility is developed to the level where income is generated. Although very doubtful income from NDL and training fees would be sufficient. 3. Car parking for 200 cars for a stadium intended to hold 3000 will not pass planning. There will need to be additional parking facilities nearby. Example Leicester where in addition to the stadium car park there is agreement with adjacent shopping center for use of their car park. 4.The restoration of a grade two listed building in a state of dilapidation is costly to complete and such expenditure will be diverted away from the investment into the stadium facility. Interesting that the proposed use would be for offices once the restoration is completed. 5. The inclusion of small industrial units will create revenue for the leaseholders presuming that the ground lease allows for sub-letting of such units. which is certainly a pre-requisite with no limits to the number of units that can be built. Conclusion. Whilst it would be great to see speedway return to the Swindon area and go from strength to strength, A more likely outcome (especially considering who the protagonists are) is that, a) Planning application will be rejected on the ground's of insufficient parking. b) The land will be developed fully for industrial units/ offices - both of which will provide significant income for the leaseholders far greater than what running a speedway stadium ever can do. I hope I am wrong.

Anybody? Would be especially good to hear from the "Swindon speedway group" mentioned in the interview.

What’s the story behind this?

Whilst your point of two teams operating at Birmingham and thus providing greater rental income is understandable, but as you recognise, in reality it the combined income would still be insufficient to support the total running costs of the facility. As for the council broadening the uses at the stadium, what other activities are there that would generate sufficient income to cover the speedway shortfall?

Their involvement is to acquire content for their TV channels and generate income from advertising & sub-licensing. Unfortunately unlike other sports shown on TV such as football/Rugby/Cricket/Darts/Snooker/MotoGP/etc. there is insufficient money involved to actually feed down to grass roots or actually promote & grow the sport to a wider audience.

Unfortunately a none goer from the start as no TV company would see any financial benefit in doing as you suggest. The reason? Besides running stadiums is not their core activity, to buy Brandon, remove the existing derelict building & then build something capable of holding a GP akin to BV would cost in the region of ten million pounds. This type of investment would require a return (profit) of at least one million pounds per year before inflation - which of course is just not feasible.

There was no insider trading simply because it was a deal done between two private companies. One, who had originally acquired the stadium for housing development but had a change of plan plan and one (another developer) who was offered the stadium/land when the incumbent ran out of available capital. What followed from then up to the present day is well known. 🤷‍♂️ One things for sure is that a tv company would not be remotely interested in acquiring Brandon to stage one or two GP meetings.

Maybe the subsidy by from the Welsh tourist board has finished or been dramatically reduced to make the event unviable. Local businesses are going to suffer unless some other event gets booked in. Also it shows the way not to address the problem of declining attendance is to shove the prices up way beyond inflation. BV need to take heed - no guarantee of the meetings being a sell out as both will be on TV & should price tickets to pass on the benefit of their fixed costs now being spread across two meetings instead of just the one intended.

Huh? Loads of city centre hotels with available rooms for Friday at £150.00 and £350 Sat/sun on booking.com

Is it the presumption that the example used to clarify the scenario is where the British riders actual average is initially higher than that of the overseas rider but once the discount is applied the adjusted average becomes lower?

You are correct that Lawson has an higher average than the no. three's at Ipswich & The Aces....but well off their respective top two riders who he will meet in three of his four programmed rides...plus heat 15! Similarly, ten points maybe possible in some meetings, but they have six riders who could also score six point each....However, they will always have a strong number six which may help matters. Overall, whilst its good to see the Stars having a more reliable look about them than in 2024 a play off place may be just beyond their reach...but will cause one or two upsets.

Haven't they already said land is available, just that other matters have to be considered and overcome before any progress can be made. Equally, if they did say "no land available" then there is not a lot of options open for anyone else to "have a go" as, "no land available " means "no land available". However, keep the faith as sometimes, where there is a will, there is a way, as per the eventual return of speedway to Leicester, even though it took 28 years for it to happen!