DECEMBER NEWS 2011

OPPOSITION TO PLANS AT FORMER RACEWAY
By Ky Capel, Dorset Echo ~ Friday 23rd December 2011
AN APPLICATION has been made to change the use of the land which was once the home of the Weymouth Wildcats. The area was originally designated for recreational use but since the recent removal of the speedway track, formerly the Wessex Raceway, landowners Wessex Delivery Partnership LLP have taken the next step in their plans for redevelopment.

West Dorset District Council have received an application to alter the use of the land to open storage and are inviting members of the public to air their views on the proposal by next Friday.

A number of comments have already been made in opposition to the application, including one from former Wildcats’ team manager Jem Dicken and another from Hilary Trevorah on behalf of Chickerell Town Council. The former wrote: “I strongly oppose this application. The owners of this land have taken away one of Weymouth’s amenities which has been used by local people and tourists alike. This land has been designated for leisure purposes for years and planning should not be changed.”

To post a comment online, visit webapps.westdorset-dc.gov.uk and enter 1/D/11/001906 as the application number. Alternatively, write to the Development Services Manager at Stratton House, 58/60 High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UZ.
 

BATTEY IN OFFER TO FIND LAND FOR WILDCATS
By Adam Summers, Dorset Echo ~ Thursday 8th December 2011
ERNIE Battey has promised to tip off the Weymouth Wildcats if any suitable land becomes available in the town for a prospective new home. The managing director of Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd made the offer of help in a letter to the club this week. Morgan Sindall and Wessex Delivery LLP acquired the Wildcats’ former base at Radipole Lane from Wessex Park Ltd back in October 2008 and two years later WDP evicted the speedway outfit after a failure to pay the rent.

Harold Doonan then attempted to take over the lease in a bid to resuscitate the ailing club but the landowners turned away his efforts and recently had the track dug up. Morgan Sindall and Wessex Delivery also hold an option agreement on Weymouth FC’s Bob Lucas Stadium and are currently searching for possible sites to relocate the ground – a move that has been welcomed by the Terras’ board.

In response to an email sent by Wildcats’ former press officer Julie Martin to Morgan Sindall public relations contact Rob Miatt, Battey said: “Your email to Rob Miatt has been passed to me because Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd (MSIL) is one of the partners in the Wessex Delivery LLP.

“Wessex Delivery LLP does not act at the sole discretion of MSIL as you infer in your email but we do nevertheless expect to conduct our business in accordance with the quote you also repeat in your email (“We work in partnership with local communities and their government agencies and stakeholders to en-hance social and economic benefits and achieve wider community outcomes across the United Kingdom”).

“As no doubt you are aware Wessex Delivery LLP did consider Mr Doonan’s letter sent earlier in the year and our position has not changed in that regard. We have also been searching for land in the Weymouth area to enable us to relocate the football stadium and if whilst doing so we become aware of a prospective site that might suit your needs I will let you know as soon as possible. Whilst writing please note that the land to which you refer has not been used as a builders’ dumping ground. Any waste and rubble etc on there was already present and is being cleared from the site not stored on it.”

Doonan has welcomed Battey’s response and has called for the speedway track to be incorporated in any new stadium development for the football club.

He said: “It took eight weeks for them to respond to our original letter and this is the first time Ernie Battey has made contact himself. However, there are still two questions that need answering and that is why, with no planning permission, have they decided to destroy the track at Radipole Lane? And secondly, if they are going to move the football club, what are their plans for the ground there?

“Also, if they are going to go to all this trouble why can’t they incorporate a speedway track around the football pitch at the new site? It would certainly make more sense as you would have just one load of rates to pay between the two clubs and all the money earned from the bar and whatever else is in the new development would go into the same pot. It would also make sense for the good of the community.”