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Speedway supporters push for Local Plan protection

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough
Shariqua Ahmed/ BBC Mick, a man with grey hair. He is wearing a grey suit jacket and a striped shirt. He is standing next to Brian, a man in a blue shirt and a red tie.Shariqua Ahmed/ BBC
Mick Bratley and Brian Connolly said the fight for Speedway in Peterborough will continue

Campaigners raised concerns about the "woolly" new Local Plan and said the future of Speedway was not given enough protection.

The blueprint will guide where housing and development will take place across the city over the next 20 years, and a draft has been approved to go out to public consultation.

Former promoter Mick Bratley told a council cabinet meeting on Thursday that he was "hoping to get just one sentence put into the new Local Plan" about Speedway, "which hasn't happened"

Shabina Qayyum, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, said the request was "too late in the process" but representations could be made during the consultation.

The former East of England Showground was home to the Peterborough Panthers for about 50 years before the team's departure in 2023.

Speedway supporters have been campaigning to preserve opportunities for the sport after a proposal for up to 650 homes on the site was refused in 2024, a decision many fans described as a significant victory.

Bratley said campaigners would now submit their case through the consultation process, which began on Friday, before the plan is examined by an independent planning inspector.

He argued that supporters simply wanted to retain the level of protection currently afforded to the Speedway track in the existing Local Plan.

"At the moment, what's being proposed in the new Local Plan is a bit woolly and doesn't give us the assurances that we had in the previous Local Plan," he said.

Asked whether there was a future for Speedway in Peterborough, fellow campaigner Brian Connolly said efforts to return to the former showground site had so far been unsuccessful.

However, he insisted supporters remained committed to bringing the sport back to the city.

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Shabina, a woman, with black hair. She is wearing a blue jacket. Shariqua Ahmed/BBC
Shabina Asad Qayyum, Peterborough City Council leader, has urged residents to take part in the six-week consultation

Qayyum told the meeting: "I know that there has been a historical association, quite a strong one, with Speedway.

"It's just such a shame... with the extensive work that has to be undertaken to try and verify and evidence the viability of sites that this didn't come much before."

She has encouraged supporters to make representations in the six-week consultation.

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