MP meets with
NEARLY 2,000 PEOPLE SENT A PERSONAL LETTER OF OBJECTION TO A PROPOSED HOUSING PLAN
A COVENTRY MP met with Save Coventry Speedway campaigner Jeff Davies to seek support for the next steps in the campaign.
The meeting came as it was revealed there will be a delay in the council hearing the planning application to build up to 137 new houses on the site.
Initially due to be heard this month, the application will now go before planners in either July or August.
Campaigners fighting for the return of the Coventry Bees speedway team to Brandon Stadium were recently thrown a lifeline by a government planning inspector.
The historic home of the Coventry Bees speedway team and the CoventryStox stock car operation – which has hosted speedway events since 1928 – is currently in a poor state following a long-running dispute between owners Brandon Estates and former owner Avtar Sandhu.
The row – which saw its fixtures and fittings removed – meant the Bees were unable to race there for the last campaign in speedway’s Elite League and there are fears the sport may never return to the site.
Brandon Estates want to develop the site for housing .
A planning application has been submitted to Rugby Borough Council to build up to 137 new houses on the site.
However the site is in the green belt and did not form part of the Rugby Local Plan, meaning any application to build homes would struggle to be approved. In a statement published on their website, Save Coventry Speedway said although the delay to hearing the planning application is frustrating, they will continue to have further meetings. The statement read: “Whilst we await a decision on the planning application, we remain active and have several further meetings scheduled. Jeff Davies recently met with Coventry South MP Jim Cunningham , who has been fully supportive of our efforts to see motorsports return to the area as soon as possible. “Mr Cunningham was one of the MPs who signed the joint letter to Rugby Borough Council urging the rejection of the planning application and the restoration of Brandon Stadium to stage speedway and stock car racing. “He was also one of the 1,800 people who sent in an individual letter of objection. “The meeting was to discuss and seek support for our next steps in the campaign, and Mr Cunningham is happy to support those next steps. “Regarding the application itself, we have received confirmation that it will not be heard at the June planning committee meeting. “We are now told that it is likely to be in either July or August – naturally we hope it will be in July to enable things to move forward, and we will update everyone as soon as we know. “The delay is frustrating in some ways but is also an indication of the complexity of the case – and it also means that the application should be judged in the light of updated policies arising from the independent hearings