SAVE OUR BEES: Brandon council questions Coventry Stadium's travellers' claims amid homebuilding plan - The Coventry Observer

SAVE OUR BEES: Brandon council questions Coventry Stadium's travellers' claims amid homebuilding plan

Coventry Editorial 14th Jun, 2017 Updated: 15th Jun, 2017   0

CLAIMS by Coventry Stadium’s owner it is pressing ahead with building houses on the former Coventry Bees speedway site to protect residents from traveller encampments have been condemned by a council.

In a strongly worded statement released to the Coventry Observer, Brandon and Bretford Parish Council questioned how travellers were so easily able to gain access to the site last week.

The council also raises questions as to why the site’s owners, Brandon Estates Limited, so heavily emphasised the travellers’ encampment in its public statement released to us last week. It stated it was a reason for pressing ahead with a planning application for the homes plan on the green belt site.

Building houses there has been Brandon Estates Limited’s intention since obtaining the site in 2015.




Since that time, it has also been one party involved a multi-party dispute which has resulted in the world famous 89-year-old Coventry Bees being homeless and removed from the sports’ Premiership this year, placing their future in grave doubt.

Brandon residents, who did not want to be named, said local people opposed the homebuilding plan, and wanted the stadium to remain there, as a short-term or long-term home for the Bees and other sports.


Coventry Observer and Bees fans’ campaigns are calling for the return of the Bees to its traditional venue or another site.

If the homes plan is to obtain planning permission from Rugby Borough Council, planners would have to be satisfied that the speedway and other sporting facilities would be relocated and provided elsewhere. It is understood that would be necessary to prevent the contravention of national planning policy designed to protect sporting provision.

The statement from Brandon and Bretford Parish Council reads: “We are pleased that the travellers went freely from the Brandon stadium on Sunday night and the gates were locked behind them.

“The parish council are aware the owners did not serve notice for the travellers to quit despite witnesses reporting to them and the police when they broke into the site on Tuesday.

“We have been informed that Brandon Estates gave the travellers the benefit of the doubt that they would move off on Wednesday and the solicitor was then away until Monday.

“The residents do have cause to be suspicious about the owners’ motives as they have not acted quickly to remove the incursion.

“The parish council is calling on Brandon Estates to act promptly in future and to secure the site against further incursions from travellers. We are asking them to clean up the site and the surrounding woodland to ensure there are no health issues for local residents using the footpaths etc for their leisure use and have involved Environmental Health in this request.”

Last Friday’s Brandon Estates statement released to us read: “Following the recent trespass by travellers on the Brandon Stadium site, Brandon Estates has been contacted by residents wanting a long-term answer to this recurring problem.

“It is understood that a local resident claims to have witnessed the travellers blocking the road and breaking into the site, and then subsequently breaking into the stadium itself.”

Brandon Estates went on to claim residents were ‘living in fear’ while travellers occupied the stadium’s car park, and added they have been urged by local residents to build homes on the new site as soon as possible to ‘improve the local environment’.

The statement continued: “Brandon Estates has every sympathy with members of the local community who are forced to endure these problems.

“As a result, Brandon Estates will be coming forward with proposals for a phased development of new homes on which local residents will be consulted in the usual way.”

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