Gambo

I wasn't there, but maybe riders were moving? 15.2.9.1 After a pause of not less than 1½ seconds, sufficient to enable the Riders to spin their engines and focus attention, and provided all riders are stationary the Referee shall release the Tapes to signify the start.

Ooops! Yarmouth.

Yes! Poole Kurtz, Woryna, Grajczonek, Szczepaniak, Sundstrom, J Jenkins. Weymouth Batchelor, Wells, Tungate, Garrity, Klindt, A Bowtell.

Reducing averages won't help until the Riders have done 4H & 4A.

Kennett's injury was sustained at the Swingfield European Grasstrack semi-final yesterday. (Sunday). He didn't fall, but from where I was standing (3rd-4th bend) it looked like he jarred his left leg on turns 1-2. He rode outside the circuit towards the 3rd bend in obvious agony, and fell off his m/c just before the pits.

2 pm.

I'm not sure when, or if, your interpretation was the case, but for as long as I have been interested in Averages, it's been all rides in a meeting.

You are right (for once) .. Poole are making themselves look worse than they do on paper!

Wow! Just read through it all. What an excellent piece of work by the SCS committee. Their rebuttal of Brandon Estates spurious statements is superb. Good Luck!

Yeah.. a bit like Poole v Lakeside a few years ago?

We always used to go to the chippy, just up from the stadium. They do a Speedway Special Fish and chips. Great value and tasty fish and chips! "Fishcakes" in Garland Road.

And they also have around 100 tradesmen who have offered their services to restore the stadium.

THE documents for Brandon and Bretford Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Plan application have been submitted. These are available to download from the Rugby Borough Council website. https://www.rugby.gov.uk/downloads/file/1738/brandon_and_bretford_neighbourhood_development_plan We would particularly draw your attention to section 12 (starting on page 54) concerning Potential Development Sites, which makes detailed reference to Brandon Stadium. Note particularly the following paragraphs: 12.6 In the survey circulated to residents for the development of the Neighbourhood Plan, residents were asked what uses they would like to see included as part of the future redevelopment of the Stadium site. An overwhelming majority of responses wanted to see the site retained for sporting use or for the development of community facilities. There was some support for the development of small business uses, but only a handful of responses supported any form of residential development with those responses favouring either affordable housing or specialist housing for the elderly. *This survey response is entirely in line with our own survey of local residents carried out in Autumn 2017 and indeed the overwhelming response of 1,800 objections to the planning application as part of the council’s consultation process. 12.7 The site is wholly within the Green Belt and the adopted Development Plan does not contain any policy that is specific to its existing or future use. Similarly the emerging Rugby Local Plan contains no policy that is specific to the site’s existing or future use other than general policies for the redevelopment of PDL within the District. *This is an issue which we have raised in our representations towards the Local Plan and will do so once more during the public hearings later this month. 12.8 The Government’s planning policies as contained in the NPPF contain policies on the redevelopment of PDL within areas of Green Belt and on the loss of existing open space, sports and recreational facilities and buildings. Paragraph 74 states that: “Existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields, should not be built on unless: a. an assessment has been undertaken which has clearly shown the open space, buildings or land to be surplus to requirements; or b. the loss resulting from the proposed development would be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location; or c. the development is for alternative sports and recreational provision, the needs for which clearly outweigh the loss”. *The Parish Council are absolutely correct to highlight this section of planning policy, which is also included in our objections to the planning application. 12.10 The site has played an important role as a sports stadium for almost 90 years and is an established and valued facility within the Parish. Alongside the local and wider sporting value it has delivered to generations of people, the stadium has provided local employment and has become a valued landmark in the area. The survey of residents showed that there was overwhelming support for the retention of the site as predominantly a sporting facility whether in total or as part of the site’s redevelopment. *Again, this is entirely consistent with our own findings having surveyed the local residents. Policy PDS1 commences: POLICY PDS 1 BRANDON STADIUM As a long established and valued sports stadium, preference will be given to the continued use of the site either in whole or in part for sports purposes. Support will be given to proposals which would allow the site to remain in its current use as a sporting facility subject to acceptability with other policies in the Plan and to adopted Development Plan policies. *Interestingly, there is a brief reference to the Neighbourhood Plan within the Design and Access Statement in the Brandon Estates planning application. It states: 2.1.34 Brandon and Bretford Parish was designated as a Neighbourhood Plan area on 12th May 2016. The Steering Group are currently in the process of writing the Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish, no draft has been produced, and therefore no weight is currently given to this. *We have made reference to this brazen statement in our own objections to the Planning Application, the full text of which will be reproduced on our website next week. We have included, amongst others, the following comment: 10.6 Why have Brandon Estates suggested the decision on the planning application should be made giving "no weight" to the wishes of the local community? Is it because the local community are substantially supportive of retaining the Stadium facility?

The FIM is pleased to announce that the FIM Long Track World Championship will be streamed live on the FIM YouTube Channel. The events will be transmitted by Polish company Sabmar TV who have long experience covering FIM and FIM Europe events as well as Polish League meetings. The highly respected Alex Raby will be commentating, and the programmes will include interviews, behind the scenes clips, the occasional outtake and the live draw for the following round. Herxheim, Germany 10th May La Réole, France 16th June Roden, The Netherlands 15th July Eenrum, The Netherlands 19th August Mühldorf, Germany 30th September Morizès, France 1st September (Team Event)

If he's a better rider, then why hasn't his average been adjusted to reflect this?

................Only if a rider has completed 4H & 4A by the 23rd.

Spoke to Colin at Birmingham tonight and he confirmed that it is indeed his older brother Terry and that they rode together in a pairs meeting.

I don't think you can beat Chris Durno and his elastic band with a spanner tied on the end! Nobody ever jumps the start then!

A bit of a contradiction in the Averages rule, in that although they will be Rolling Averages (eventually), 2017 stats are not included. Updated averages will be achieved once a rider has completed 4H & 4A. I have no idea of the reasoning behind not using 2017 stats.

Format is actually 15 Heats + Final. Riders have 5 Rides each. Top 4 to the Final.

Interesting Speed and G Force indicators.

A bit of a contradiction in the Averages rule, in that although they will be Rolling Averages (eventually), 2017 stats are not included. Updated averages will be achieved once a rider has completed 4H & 4A.

You don't have to discriminate, just have a gentleman's agreement that you won't ask a 'foreign' rider to double up/down. But then again we all know what happened to the old 2nd Division gentleman's agreement regarding foreign riders...

Rob Painter was mechanic to Jason Crump and later on Rory Schlein and/or Danny King? Rob is/was also 'Revolution Speedway' who I believe lease Speedway Bikes to riders and had a Team classification at the FIM.

THE Campaign Group have now submitted their representations to Rugby Borough Council regarding the Brandon Estates planning application. It has been necessary to prepare a lengthy submission in order to not only deal with the deficiencies of the application in technical terms, but also to correct numerous assertions made throughout the planning material which are either misleading or simply incorrect, and to also present an accurate timeline of the events of recent years. We have objected to the planning application on a total of eleven grounds. These are listed in the Executive Summary below. Each of those eleven grounds has its own section in our main document, and many give rise to other issues as the arguments are developed. We are particularly critical of the Turley Report on viability, and the Sustainability Appraisal, as neither present a fair or accurate appraisal of the position of the stadium when acquired by Brandon Estates – or at the end of 2016 – and both are entirely tailored to fit the applicant’s own criteria rather than providing an objective view or considering other suitable options. Other key sections refer to the damage done to the stadium since 2017; local and national policy concerning designated sports venues; the Green Belt status of the site; the negative impact of development on the area; and a wide range of other associated issues. The main document is backed up by further information in appendices as follows, many of which confirm that information in various parts of the planning application is seriously deficient or incorrect: - A brief introduction to the Campaign Group, our motives and our members. - Information previously published by the applicant which is directly contradictory to material in their planning application. - A 20-page document entitled ‘The Systematic Damage to the Iconic Brandon Stadium’ which is a full pictorial timeline of events since November 2016 and clearly shows how Brandon Estates have been seeking to benefit from their own lack of security on-site and the damage which has therefore been caused. Here we also include the outstanding response to our recent appeal for tradesmen/women. - Professional information relating to the business position of the stadium (staging speedway and stock car racing) under the previous owners. - Analysis and confirmation of the number of UK speedway venues over a 20-year period. - ‘Brandon Stadium – A Brief History’ – a 15-page document with pictures summarising the history of the stadium, the major events staged there for both speedway and stock cars, and its overwhelming importance to the local community. - The Campaign Group’s objections made to the local plan review. - Examples of major coverage in local, national and trade press. Our full submission, including appendices, runs to 80 pages, and provides a compelling argument not only for the rejection of the planning application but also for the stadium to be retained, re-furbished and re-opened. The timescale of the planning application is not known at this stage, but we have registered to speak at the official hearing. Our thanks to all speedway and stock car supporters from all over the world, official bodies and competitors of both sports, and the many local residents who have submitted their objections to this scheme to destroy one of the UK’s most famous oval motorsport venues. Below is the Executive Summary which forms the opening of our submission: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign is an umbrella grouping of people who wish to see the long heritage of Speedway and Stock Car Racing in Coventry / Rugby continue, and be returned to the iconic Brandon (aka Coventry) Stadium as soon as possible. The Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign wishes to place on record the strongest possible objections to Planning Application R18/0186, which would result in the loss and redevelopment of Brandon Stadium. The grounds of objections are as follows: 1. The proposals are directly contrary to the provisions of both the existing development plan (the Core Strategy, adopted 2011) and its emerging review (the Rugby Borough Local Plan, 2011-2031, Publication Draft, September 2016). 2. The housing proposals conflict with the Green Belt designation of the site. 3. The housing proposals are contrary to the provisions of national planning policy, which seeks to protect sports facilities from development. 4.'Fixing Our Broken Housing Market' and ‘Planning for Growth’ provide no grounds to support the housing proposals. 5. Brandon Stadium was, and remains, a viable use for the site. 6. Brandon Stadium remains the best site for Speedway and Stock Car Racing in Rugby Borough, and the failure of the owners in their obligations to secure the site is the only reason that has led to significant damage to the buildings since January 2017. 7. Brandon Stadium has a rich and long heritage reaching back to 1928 which should be treasured and protected. 8. The redevelopment of Brandon Stadium will result in the destruction of one of the most important tourist facilities in Rugby Borough. 9. The applicants have failed to demonstrate the viability of their proposals. 10. The proposals are premature and should be considered through the Development Plan process. 11. The Sustainability Appraisal and associated background material accompanying the planning application is deficient and does not provide sufficient basis to support the new housing proposals. In the following report and accompanying appendices we set out the reasoned and measured arguments in support of each of the above objections. We believe that the grounds of objection outlined above against Brandon Estates’ aggressive and predatory housing proposals are weighty, and present a compelling case for planning permission for the redevelopment of Brandon Stadium for new housing to be refused. The Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign accordingly and respectfully calls upon Rugby Borough Council to embrace the long and rich sporting heritage to reject the planning application which would lead to the loss of one of the most iconic sports stadiums in the country. In the – hopefully unlikely - event that Rugby Borough Council might be persuaded to look favourably on residential development on the site of Brandon Stadium, the Save Coventry Speedway and Stox Campaign would strongly urge the current planning application to be refused, with the applicant being advised that they should only re-apply subject to the obligation to provide an alternative replacement stadium of comparable quality being proposed for consideration in tandem. Finally, we note that Rugby Borough Council’s Corporate Strategy 2017-20 strapline is ‘Proud of our past, fit for the future.’ We respectfully call upon them to apply this principle when making their decision on this planning application. ENDS