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Author Topic: Gone to the dogs  (Read 10276 times)
ronnie21

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« Reply #15 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 12:46:02 »


Is Blunsdon dogs track still going?

Used to love going there,good value night out as long as you don't get too carried away with your bets.

Yes, still there - new stadium meant to have started in October but not happened!  Racing on Wednesday and Saturday nights plus two meeting in the morning/afternoons for BAGS bookies. 
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Sir Cliff Pipehard

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« Reply #16 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 13:09:35 »

Yes, still there - new stadium meant to have started in October but not happened!  Racing on Wednesday and Saturday nights plus two meeting in the morning/afternoons for BAGS bookies. 

Cheers Ronnie

Does that mean the speedway team still race there too?

Haven't seen the Robins since 1982,the father in law is from Poole and a Pirates fan and I keep meaning to take him but heard they'd moved?
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Bob's Orange
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« Reply #17 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 13:45:54 »

Yeah the speedway still race. The sport is a bit in the doldrums I think, Coventry bees had to withdraw from the league. However BT Sport have bought the tv rights so maybe all is not lost!

I follow the results but haven't been to a meeting in ages. Used to go a lot as a kid. Loved the smells!
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we've been to Aberdeen, we hate the Hibs, they make us spew up, so make some noise,
the gorgie boys, for Hearts in Europe.
Sir Cliff Pipehard

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« Reply #18 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 14:51:24 »

Yeah the speedway still race. The sport is a bit in the doldrums I think, Coventry bees had to withdraw from the league. However BT Sport have bought the tv rights so maybe all is not lost!

I follow the results but haven't been to a meeting in ages. Used to go a lot as a kid. Loved the smells!

Cheers Bob

Yes,there's no smell quite like it.


 

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WEBBERhyde

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« Reply #19 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 17:18:24 »

We were promised the stadium in 2016. 2016 speedway season came and went without a shovel being wielded on site.

At the end of 2016 they said everything was clear to start construction and we'd be ready to move into the new stadium in June/July. Since then, they've stuck a portacabin on site, moved some earth around a tiny bit and now taken the cabin away again. Not one brick has been laid. All whilst the houses have been flying up around the old and "new" sites.

Clarke Osbourne and Stadia UK are notorious for being greasy little cunts, promising new stadia, selling the land for development and not delivering. We're supposed to have the backing of the council that the new stadium has to be built before a certain amount of houses are built, but no one seems to be able to actually provide any proof that this is a legally binding contract. Either the council are in on it all or they're being played like a fiddle by Osbourne as well. Both scenarios are as likely as each other unfortunately.

I can't see the new stadium ever being built and can't see us staying in the old one for much longer. The place is fucking knackered. Just wait for the mystery fire in the main stand. Hard to see any future for the Robins beyond 2017 at the moment, unfortunately. The sport in the UK is on its knees anyway at the moment.

Depressing time to be a Robins fan. At least the football is proving plenty of cheer....oh FFS.
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pauld
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« Reply #20 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 20:51:05 »

Isn't Mr Whippy the chairman or CEO or whatever at Swindon Speedway? That'll be the problem, all the plans for the new stadium are stuck in his head. He seems to have developed a liking for providing public cover for dubious sports owners.

As for the council holding developers to what they've actually promised to deliver, you've got no chance. The developers at Coate drove a coach and horses through all the agreements they made about how they'd develop "Badbury Park" and the council did fuck all. Council planning officers seem to see their job as being to help developers do whatever they want and fuck the residents who pay their wages
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ronnie21

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« Reply #21 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 21:39:44 »

We were promised the stadium in 2016. 2016 speedway season came and went without a shovel being wielded on site.

At the end of 2016 they said everything was clear to start construction and we'd be ready to move into the new stadium in June/July. Since then, they've stuck a portacabin on site, moved some earth around a tiny bit and now taken the cabin away again. Not one brick has been laid. All whilst the houses have been flying up around the old and "new" sites.

Clarke Osbourne and Stadia UK are notorious for being greasy little cunts, promising new stadia, selling the land for development and not delivering. We're supposed to have the backing of the council that the new stadium has to be built before a certain amount of houses are built, but no one seems to be able to actually provide any proof that this is a legally binding contract. Either the council are in on it all or they're being played like a fiddle by Osbourne as well. Both scenarios are as likely as each other unfortunately.

I can't see the new stadium ever being built and can't see us staying in the old one for much longer. The place is fucking knackered. Just wait for the mystery fire in the main stand. Hard to see any future for the Robins beyond 2017 at the moment, unfortunately. The sport in the UK is on its knees anyway at the moment.

Depressing time to be a Robins fan. At least the football is proving plenty of cheer....oh FFS.
And now Osbourne and co have got their mitts on Torquay United, council own Plainmoor but apparently they have been promised that a new footy stadium will be built if they can have permission to develop the old ground.  Give them five years and there will be some very disappointed Gulls fans!!  And yes Paul, Mr Whippy is on the board of the Robins - wonder if he promises the riders he will take them to the Gluepot for a lunchtime pint!
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pauld
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« Reply #22 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 21:55:19 »

And yes Paul, Mr Whippy is on the board of the Robins - wonder if he promises the riders he will take them to the Gluepot for a lunchtime pint!
They're fucked then, he's like the Grim Reaper or Kate Adie - when he turns up, you know you're (being) screwed
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Sir Cliff Pipehard

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« Reply #23 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 22:28:10 »

We were promised the stadium in 2016. 2016 speedway season came and went without a shovel being wielded on site.

At the end of 2016 they said everything was clear to start construction and we'd be ready to move into the new stadium in June/July. Since then, they've stuck a portacabin on site, moved some earth around a tiny bit and now taken the cabin away again. Not one brick has been laid. All whilst the houses have been flying up around the old and "new" sites.

Clarke Osbourne and Stadia UK are notorious for being greasy little cunts, promising new stadia, selling the land for development and not delivering. We're supposed to have the backing of the council that the new stadium has to be built before a certain amount of houses are built, but no one seems to be able to actually provide any proof that this is a legally binding contract. Either the council are in on it all or they're being played like a fiddle by Osbourne as well. Both scenarios are as likely as each other unfortunately.

I can't see the new stadium ever being built and can't see us staying in the old one for much longer. The place is fucking knackered. Just wait for the mystery fire in the main stand. Hard to see any future for the Robins beyond 2017 at the moment, unfortunately. The sport in the UK is on its knees anyway at the moment.

Depressing time to be a Robins fan. At least the football is proving plenty of cheer....oh FFS.

That's a depressing tale,sorry to hear that.

Forgive my ignorance but who's Mr Whippy?
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WEBBERhyde

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« Reply #24 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 22:40:18 »

And now Osbourne and co have got their mitts on Torquay United, council own Plainmoor but apparently they have been promised that a new footy stadium will be built if they can have permission to develop the old ground.  Give them five years and there will be some very disappointed Gulls fans!!  And yes Paul, Mr Whippy is on the board of the Robins - wonder if he promises the riders he will take them to the Gluepot for a lunchtime pint!

I was going to mention it but forgot, but yes, Torquay are next on the list to be wiped off the face of the earth.

Isn't Mr Whippy the chairman or CEO or whatever at Swindon Speedway? That'll be the problem, all the plans for the new stadium are stuck in his head. He seems to have developed a liking for providing public cover for dubious sports owners.

As for the council holding developers to what they've actually promised to deliver, you've got no chance. The developers at Coate drove a coach and horses through all the agreements they made about how they'd develop "Badbury Park" and the council did fuck all. Council planning officers seem to see their job as being to help developers do whatever they want and fuck the residents who pay their wages

As useless/deluded as he might be, he (or anyone else at swindon speedway) will have next to no say to what goes on with the new site. All the speedway does is rent the stadium for meetings, so the best they can hope for is to bend over and hope Osbourne doesn't fuck them about too much. The plans have been in a long time before Whippy came in, and the whole saga even years before that.

2006 Stadia UK said they wanted to redevelop the site but released plans for it without speedway involved. After some outrage from people and some drum banging from Tomlinson on the council, they reluctantly included speedway back into the plans.
The financial crash put everything on hold for years. They spent a few more years fucking about after that getting planning permissions and then kept coming up with excuses about drainage and parking and shite like that. They've kept dragging their heels on the whole thing and seemed to have planned it intentionally poorly so it would hit all these problems.

More than 10 years down the line, the sport that was struggling back then is now barely fucking breathing (that's a whole other conversation), so a lot of people barely give a shit anymore. There's no news coming from anyone about what's happening, Tomlinson seems to have gone silent on the issue.

Their plan is probably to delay building of the new stadium so there are enough houses up around the new site to say that a new stadium is no longer viable, all whilst the bulldozers move in on the crumbling wreck of the old site. Cunts.  Crash
« Last Edit: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 22:43:06 by WEBBERhyde » Logged
WEBBERhyde

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« Reply #25 on: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 22:50:51 »

That's a depressing tale,sorry to hear that.

Forgive my ignorance but who's Mr Whippy?

Mike Bowden. Although I've said he won't have any say on how things progress, he does seem to know how to spin some shite.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/15044648._Stadium_is_going_to_plan___says_Bowden/

I've said it all from day one. I'll only ever be convinced we're getting a new track, when I'm actually stood on the terraces watching a race meeting. Until then, I remain highly sceptical.
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ronnie21

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« Reply #26 on: Sunday, March 12, 2017, 06:47:56 »

A colleague from another hobby is a very keen greyhound racing man - not locally I would add - and is very close to the GRA _the controlling body (I think!) of greyhound racing.  Whilst we were at a social function three years ago he approached me and asked if i knew that Swindon Greyhounds and Speedway stadium was due to close in 2016?  I expressed surprise but he just said they were planning on redevelopment for housing!  With all the delays and no progress on a replacement stadium I fear for the future of greyhound racing and speedway in Swindon.
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ronnie21

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« Reply #27 on: Sunday, March 12, 2017, 15:13:13 »

Just read a very interesting article from a page called www.Twohundredpercent.net  Entitled Torquay United: Going to the Dogs?  Tells you all you need to know about the Swindon speedway and greyhound track owners!
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horlock07

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« Reply #28 on: Monday, March 13, 2017, 09:45:45 »


As for the council holding developers to what they've actually promised to deliver, you've got no chance. The developers at Coate drove a coach and horses through all the agreements they made about how they'd develop "Badbury Park" and the council did fuck all. Council planning officers seem to see their job as being to help developers do whatever they want and fuck the residents who pay their wages

The enforcement of matters held in legal agreements (s.106 I suspect) appended to planning permissions is mainly a matter for the Councils legal services (the old fashioned Borough Solicitor), advised where appropriate by the Enforcement Officer and the ultimate decision to take action lies with the elected members.

The 'Planning Officers' cannot do anything without their overlords say so!
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Panda Paws

« Reply #29 on: Monday, March 13, 2017, 09:52:11 »

Just read a very interesting article from a page called www.Twohundredpercent.net  Entitled Torquay United: Going to the Dogs?  Tells you all you need to know about the Swindon speedway and greyhound track owners!

Two Hundred Percent is ace - run by a guy called Ian King twitter.com/twoht and one of the best places for investigative journalism around lower league ownership. I'd recommend his piece on Crawley from a few years back. I've asked him before about Town - he's had a few bits and pieces but never anything conrete enough for a full-on article.
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