Raceway ordered to leave site over knotweed
THE director of Birmingham Wheels Raceway has been told it must leave the site in autumn due to a Japanese knotweed infestation.
Philip Bond from the popular Saltley motor racing circuit has been informed Birmingham City Council will not be extending the lease beyond October 31.
The council said it previously came to an agreement with Mr Bond when he signed a short-term lease.
But the presence of Japanese knotweed means the area is earmarked for treatment and clearance in the new year, making an extension impossible. The area will then be redeveloped, creating up to 3,000 jobs.
But Mr Bond, who has been in the business since 1979, claims the council knew the knotweed was on the site for many years before he took on the lease in July 2020.
He said: “Although the council have claimed knotweed as the reason for closing the park, it seems that this is not the case, and they are happy to demolish popular and important sports facilities to sell land to developers. We only found the real reason for the threatened closure when a Twitter follower alerted us to the council’s application to the Government’s Levelling Up fund.”
A council spokesman said: “In July 2020 the city council reached an interim agreement with one of the licensees taking a temporary, shortterm lease for use of the Birmingham Wheels site until 31 October 2021.
“The redevelopment of the Wheels site as a significant employment site – as part of the Bordesley Park Area Action Plan – will help create thousands of jobs.
“Surveys have revealed that Japanese knotweed is widespread, which requires extensive and intrusive excavation and treatment before ‘clean’ materials can be put in place. Large areas of the site will be affected, and therefore it will not be possible to further extend the lease.”