Speedway will 'never' be part of showground plans

The showground was home to the Peterborough Panthers speedway team since the 1970s

A developer said it was with a "heavy heart" that plans to build homes at a former showground would "never" involve the reintroduction of a speedway track.

Asset Earning Power Group (AEPG) wants to build 1,500 homes and leisure facilities on the former East of England Showground - the former home of the Peterborough Panthers.

Ashley Butterfield, its chief executive, said the project would bring "massively needed things for Peterborough" including new sports pitches.

A consortium aimed at bringing motorcycle speedway racing back to the city has called for the track to be included in the plans.

AEPG plans to build houses on the site of the disused speedway track

Carl Johnson, a former promoter of the Peterborough Panthers and part of the consortium, said: "We're fighting to keep the sport in the city."

He insisted the Panthers had the finances in place to reinstate the track and grandstand, which has been disused since last year with seats and fences removed.

The Panthers held a farewell event at the showground, where they had raced for 53 years, in October.

The site is being redeveloped at a cost of £50m and will include facilities for competitive sports like bowling and golf, walking and running tracks, grass and all-weather sports pitches, and allotments.

Ashley Butterfield said the development would help regenerate Peterborough

The plans have received hundreds of objections, but several members of the public and about 60 businesses and organisations have lent their support to the project.

They include Peterborough Cathedral, Nene Park Trust and Peterborough Phantoms, the city's ice hockey team.

Mr Butterfield said the development was "really different" from others because it would build sustainable homes, with large open green spaces and plenty of leisure facilities.

"This is a great opportunity to develop what is now wasteland and a derelict site into something super exciting for the community," he said.

He added that the speedway track, which has been decommissioned, would cost "multiple millions of pounds to put back together".

The speedway consortium said it would be able to reinstate the track and grandstand within eight weeks of moving back in.

A petition to preserve speedway in the city has received about 900 signatures, following a recent unsuccessful attempt to make the showground an asset of community value.

AEPG's application will be considered by Peterborough City Council on 15 October

AEPG hopes to begin building in early 2025, if its planning application is approved, with the aim of completing the build in seven years' time.

Mr Butterfield said: "I don't think AEPG are killing off [speedway] – we are facilitating development and promoting the land for development."

The land has been operated by the East of England Agricultural Society, a charity, since 1916 and has been home to events including Truckfest and the Tour of Cambridgeshire.

Peterborough City Council will consider AEPG's planning application at a meeting on 15 October.