Curborough Eco Town

Not a racing issue but one that's of wider significance to the motorsport community, rather than just putting it in the hillclimb & sprinting thread.

Have a look at the BBC news link below - Curborough is one of 15 places short listed for development as an Eco Town. Doesn't bode well for motorsport at Curborough Sprint track.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7327717.stm

Its been well known for a while that the Curborough area was up for development but I hadn't realised that they had applied for the eco town development.

nO chance of a nice smelly racetrack alongside it then :-)

Doesn't bode well for motorsport at Curborough Sprint track.



Why ever not?

The prospective owners of any new houses (eco or not) have the full benefit of searches and other environmental reports contained within the Home Information Packs. All of these reports will show on maps where the Sprint Course is in relation to tne proposed new homes. If prospective owners don't want to live near an existing motorsport venue then they simply should not buy the houses.

It only takes a few new anti motorsport faces( with a bit of financial clout) on the local council and thats the end.

The sprint course currently forms part of the proposed site... so it won't be a case of neighbour problems!

Uh oh. Another sprint track due to disappear underneath houses. (Llandow is also facing this end)

The sprint course currently forms part of the proposed site... so it won't be a case of neighbour problems!

I haven't seen any plans showing where this proposed eco town will be but you can bet your boots that the tree huggers won't want to live near a railway line or a sewage plant, so the sprint course may well be safe.

the link you need is:

www.curborough.org/Index_Main.htm

The proposed development area certainly covers the sprint course.

Jim

Sheila M...............a few years back an 'outsider' purchased one of the barn conversions near to Curborough, virtually the first w/e of the season and he complained to the council (noise) which resulted in Curborough having to tighten the reins regarding silencers. That was just one person......imagine 5000!!! BTW, he also complained about the noisy sheep:doh: :doh:

Sheila M...............a few years back an 'outsider' purchased one of the barn conversions near to Curborough, virtually the first w/e of the season and he complained to the council (noise) which resulted in Curborough having to tighten the reins regarding silencers. That was just one person......imagine 5000!!! BTW, he also complained about the noisy sheep:doh: :doh:

Yes, we know all about him. He's the reason why we can't run race enginges before 9.15 and we have to limit paddock announcements too.

He also complained about the noisy cows and tractors.

Has he ever heard of voluntary euthanasia. That's very quiet.

As the original post said, the threat to Curborough goes beyond the sprinting community. A fair number of race drivers and manufacturers also us it for testing, so I urge you all to support the opposition to the proposals.

At this stage what is required is the maximum number of objections, so that Lichfield District Council, who also do not want the development, can tell whatever Ministry it is these days "we've had xxxxx thousand objections".

This will result in a planning enquiry, at which stage the detailed grounds for objection will be considered. At the moment it is suggested we object on the grounds of the loss of a unique local & national sporting venue.

Please register your objection on the above grounds by 29 April.

The simplest way to do this is to visit the Curborough website
www.curborough.co.uk and follow the links. Alternatively you can write to: Development Services, Lichfield District Council, Frog Lane, Lichfield, WS13 6YZ.

At a later stage SDCC, who are contacting other relevant clubs for support, will supply a template for detailed objections.

Remember when you object that an objection based on the loss of a Sprinting venue is hardly likely to cut the mustard on its own. Motorsport is perceived to be noisy & environmentally unsound and yet this development is meant to be all about "green credentials". You need to find nother basis for the objection - showing that the eco town is not exactly eco friendly for eg...loss of agricultural land, unsuitable transport infrastructure, excessive use of unsustainable resources such as cement, excessive use of energy in both the construction and occupation of the houses, poor plans for the disposal of the waste produced, distance to Tescos and other amenities, excessive and adverse impact on other local communities (can the neighbourhood cope with the population that 5000 house will bring in terms of schools, hospitals, doctors surgerys)etc etc.

You should also try to show that there is no need for this development in accordance with local development plans and that, if 5000 houses are needed there are better locations for it, eg on Brown field sites (Rugely Power Station site??).

It may be worth emphasising that the loss of Curborough will be the loss of a local amenity that is used for things other than motor sport such as cycling (it is still used for cycling isn't it?). Is the venue used for young driver training and to give somewhere for the Chavs to demonstarte their blinged up Novas safely, rather than Tescos car park?

Is there a Site of Special Scientific Interest nearby - Talk to "Natural England". Any threat to such a thing may be a more legitimate reason to object than a motorsport venue. It might also be worth trying to find out from the RSPB if there are any nesting sites of rare (ish) birds in the area - The RSPB are one of the most politically astute lobby groups going.

And finally, try to find out if there are any Great Crested Newts in the area - they are a protected specis in Europe (although actually fairly common in the UK). And no, I'm not joking!

Try to show that the birds and Newts have happily co-existed with an occasional motorsport venue for many years but an "eco town" is likely to destroy their habitat for good.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the developer will have carried out his Environmental Impact Statement work - he has to - and he will try to show that there are no adverse impacts. You have to show that he is wrong and that will be difficult and expensive, hence the reason to get Natural England and the RSPB on side.

It is also worth remembering that of the 15 "eco town" proposals that have been shortlisted, 10 are scheduled to get the go ahead. Curborough could be one of the 5 that fails to be selected, particularly if the objections are strong enough and well argued enough.

Eco towns are a national political initiative and need to be fought off in a politically savvy way - I don't think that single issue objections based on the loss of a small motorsport venue will win the day unfortunately.

I just hope that I'm wrong.

Another option would be to get the Ramblers Assocation on side - there is a footpath dedicated to walkers that runs right through the Curborough Sprint Course.

Another option would be to get the Ramblers Assocation on side - there is a footpath dedicated to walkers that runs right through the Curborough Sprint Course.

Yes, all to the good.