THE owners of Coventry Stadium have declined to confirm to the Observer that they have in no way financially aided Coventry Bees’ National League campaign at Leicester for this season.
Bees, who last year were axed by the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) from the SGB Premiership, were accepted into British speedway’s lowest tier – the National League – by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in December.
Many fans took to social media to voice their concern about running a National League team under Bees’ name more than 20 miles from the club’s traditional Brandon home.
An Observer survey, completed by more than 500 readers, confirmed 78 per cent of fans would not support the club’s National League campaign this season.
Coventry promoter Mick Horton has since confirmed in a statement issued by the Save Coventry Speedway campaign group that he has received no financial support from Brandon Estates to help fund Bees’ National League campaign, despite speculation.
A statement issued by the Save Coventry Speedway campaign group on Monday, January 15, read: “We needed to be satisfied that the National League venture at Leicester is not being supported financially by Brandon Estates.
“We have been given a categorical assurance by Mick Horton that there is no financial input from the developers.
“That being the case, we are satisfied that having a Bees team racing 30 miles away is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on efforts to restore speedway and stock car racing to Coventry.”
We have since asked Brandon Estates to confirm if Mr Horton’s claim is true.
On January 23, we asked Brandon Estates the following question:
Can Brandon Estates go on record and confirm no money has been sent to Mick Horton to help fund Coventry Bees’ National League speedway venture at Leicester this season?
Responding to our question, Brandon Estates said: “Brandon Estates will not be commenting on any historic speculation regarding the site.
“Our focus now is on moving forward with the future of the site and the proposed development, on which the public can continue to provide feedback.”
In addition, we have also been denied access into the stadium due to the current unsafe nature of the land.
Planning application submitted
BRANDON Estates has submitted a planning application to Rugby Borough Council for the creation of up to 137 homes on the Brandon Stadium site in Warwickshire.
The application includes a 40 per cent allocation for affordable housing.
The plans also outline the delivery of six hectares of green open space with the opportunity for a formal play space and public amenity space, and tree planting in the north of the site to adjoin the existing woodland and meadow grassland.
