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Coventry Meeting Day


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The Facebook group and campaign was the lead item on the 4pm BBC Cov & Warks news... I'm on Drive Time just after 5pm and we have nearly 300 Facebook members in a few hours. A good start I think...

 

Excellent work speedybee, I'm sure I speak for all Bees fans when I say thank you for the effort you are putting in!

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Brummies supporter here and you need to come at this from as many angles as you can, as a matter of interest what is the Bees SSC doing, get in contact with other clubs that have been under threat and get as many ideas as possible.

Your in a slightly different position to the Brummies where the owner wanted to keep the speedway, with Sandau you dont have an allie.

Get a petition up, write letters and e-mail the council, but you need to organise this quick bearly a month left of the season, the meeting that are left get as many signatures as possible, ask everybody and I mean everybody, relatives, friends, mates, work mates, I had 3 of my relatives write letters demanding to keep the Brummies going, One of them dosent even know what speedway is.

Its two years away but treat it as two weeks and get the campaign going big time. Even the away supporters will sign it, we worked our nuts off at Perry Barr when there was a threat to close it in 2010 and we had to get more PP.

Come on if you want to keep it, work, work and more bloody work.

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Well done speedybee, I have just joined the Facebook group, I see some old friends on there, which is great to see. My Dad received his hand delivered letter in Woodlands Road yesterday morning. There is a map on the back of the letter with an arrow pointing to the stadium, so definitely no confusion with the former garden centre site. I think we need to start a petition against this planning action for all fans to sign before the end of the season, like others have said we need to do everything we can here.

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I think the most pertinent question is what are the current Bees promotion doing about this?

 

Do they intend just to run the Bees as a short-term project on a year-by-year basis until such a time as the stadium is closed and they will walk away or do they see the Bees as a longer term project?

 

If the latter is the case, what have they done in order to try to secure a long-term future for the club? I think it's about time Mr Horton and Mr Watson gave an update.

 

My own take on the matter. It'll go the same way as Cradley. Once you have a landowner that wants to sell-up it's very difficult to do anything. The current situation at Oxford quoted by Rob is all very good, but, in reality, if Sandhu does not want speedway at the track, all he needs to do is boot the club and the stock cars out and let it go derelict.

 

A derelict eyesore in a highly desirable, relatively affluent area like Brandon. It won't be long before all of the local residents will want housing on the site.

 

For every Oxford (and let's face it, no-one is getting any speedway fix at Oxford at the present moment either) there is a Cradley.

 

Coventry's future can only lie in the support of the council finding land where a new stadium can be built. Such as Redcar or Leicester.

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One year in, and I can't see that the Coventry fans have done a single thing, despite Colin Mills trying to prompt them. Two years and counting, folks, if you let Sandhu get his way. Time to oppose him in every single way you can.

 

Go down the Oxford route and see if you can get the stadium designated as a conservation area - that'll put in a huge hurdle in Sandhu's way.

 

The more you can do is mess him up while the stadium is still operational, the more chance of it staying that way.

 

Don't fall for 'let Brandon get knocked down and then open a stadium elsewhere' routine. That never happens. Look at Reading.

 

The Oxford fans have found that you've got a surprising amount of power on your side, if you win over the MP and local council. Come on Coventry folk, if you tackle this now, you CAN make a huge difference and keep Brandon open. A start would be 300-400 fans in attendance on October 18th, making their feelings known.

 

You've got to forget any past successes under Sandhu. He is now trying to kill your speedway club. Oppose him at every turn, and stop him getting his way.

 

All the best

Rob

This is spot on.

 

Don't go giving up on Brandon. The "let him knock down Brandon and he might build a new stadium elsewhere" idea is a non-starter. Speedway fans need to throw everything into saving Brandon.

 

Get it designated a conservation area, get any protection possible. Make sure it's made clear to Sandhu that he can never gain permission for housing. The save Brandon campaign seems to have some powerful allies....get these councillors and MPs working for you.

 

Make sure Sundhu's meeting is packed full of pro-stadium people and get the media onside.

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Yes, this is the way to go. We have a purpose built 24 acre stadium, the biggest sports facility in the Rugby borough. It would be a tragedy for it to go, with its legacy, it's history, it's unique memories for so many thousands of people over so many decades...we need to wear down the planning committee with a barrage of emails and questions, reasons for keeping speedway there, and hope that Sandhu and / or any prospective buyers will quickly realise that they are facing something akin to WW3! Then we can cast around for speedway people as buyers or a new consortium.

 

The Facebook group I set up at lunchtime has over 500 and our parallel Twitter account is on a par. We made the news on BBC C&W as the lead story all afternoon, edging out Farage and his cronies. The momentum is just gearing up!

 

I would suspect that Horton and co are as much in the dark about Sandhu's plans as most of the fans! All the stuff about a sale seems more and more like a smokescreen. All Horton had to say this morning on his C&W interview was that they needed to "get their skates on". No mention at all of any prospective sites, though he did admit that a lot of "scaremongering" has been going on, whatever that might refer to.... Clearly the new plans have been drawn up with a view to edging closer to planning permission, especially given the local council's recent 'call for sites'.. The only way we will keep speedway in Coventry is by getting the Rugby planners and councillors onside, galvanising as many Bees and speedway fans to become active writing letters, emails and petitions and re-promoting Brandon as a valuable community asset to the Rugby area. Think Rugby, Rugby, Rugby!

Edited by speedybee
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As I have been told it..To close the stadium and build houses..Mr Sandu has to prove the speedway is no longer viable, as well as the other activities there..and close it completely..he can't close Brandon and rebuild another stadium else where..otherwise the council will say, but you've said it's not viable..If it does close..maybe in a few years time someone else might be able to come along an build a new one..apparently it was Mr Sandhu's business partner who went bust, and Mr Sandhu cleared the debt..but Sandhu want's out..this is the best i can explain it as ive been told it..Plus also the two tin sheds are listed buildings..

Edited by fliss44
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As I have been told it..To close the stadium and build houses..Mr Sandu has to prove the speedway is no longer viable, as well as the other activities there..and close it completely..he can't close Brandon and rebuild another stadium else where..otherwise the council will say, but you've said it's not viable..If it does close..maybe in a few years time someone else might be able to come along an build a new one..apparently it was Mr Sandhu's business partner who went bust, and Mr Sandhu cleared the debt..but Sandhu want's out..this is the best i can explain it as ive been told it..Plus also the two tin sheds are listed buildings..

As I understand it if he provides a new stadium for the sports then the covenant can then be lifted. If he wants it done quick then maybe he will go that way. Once we go and see on the 18th what the plans are we may have a better idea of what next course of action to take.

 

Thanks to fans how have joined either the Facebook and Twitter campaign. I'm running the Twitter one and we have 427 followers in 16 hours.

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Just a few more thoughts, the stadium has been there for a long time, English hertiage might like to know that a stadium from the 40s is in danger.

Theres an online petition site, Im sure its been on the BSF might have bben when they were trying to get Bristol back.

New stadium how about some Lotto funding.

Have a word with Oxford Im sure theres still a campaign group around who can give you some pointers and wimbledon.

We have been through this rubbish 3 times at the Brummies in recent years contact BSSC lets face we are still trying to keep the club going.

Stand outside the stadium on race days with a petition and ask all supporters to sigh, forget your hate of over clubs at a time like this the speedway world has to unite to fight for the stadium, remember its not all about the speedway, stock cars will lose a staduim as well contact there assocsiation.

Nearly forgot start looking for land yourselves, spare land around industrial sites, one advantage no neighbours complaining about noise. Remember Newport no bloody neighbours.

Edited by P T Preece
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I was posted something on Twitter where we can try and make it a community asset which is something worth looking at.

 

Incredible amount of history at Brandon. As well as the 67 continuous years of operation of the Bees, there's countless British Finals, several World Team Cup Finals, and even the British Grand Prix for three years from 1998 to 2000 - the biggest speedway event in the UK.

 

All the best

Rob

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History or no bloody history unfortunately its out of Bees hands, it will be demolished for houses. Unless you can find new ground to either build a new stadium or occupy an existing one under agreement then I can only see the demise of the Bees. I am just being realistic I think petitions are ineffectual and a waste of time because most the time when somewhere has been earmarked for housing development it usually happens not over night but in the end. I can see the stadium laying idle for a year or so derelict then demolition.

 

You need to start getting proactive bees fans, or bury your heads in the sand and think it will all be ok.

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The Facebook group I set up at lunchtime has over 500 and our parallel Twitter account is on a par. We made the news on BBC C&W as the lead story all afternoon, edging out Farage and his cronies. The momentum is just gearing up!

 

 

Just a suggestion, but for the G.P. on telly tonight Eurosport always try to encourage twitter participation with their #AskScott thing on twitter.

 

Could be good publicity to #AskScott if he'll support the campaign to save Brandon from any potential planning application from developers. Good publicity for your campaign on TV.

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