Speedway protesters branded as a 'selfish, small cohort' trying to put brake on Peterborough Showground development

Speedway protesters opposed to a planned redevelopment of the East of England Showground that has been home to a motorcycle racetrack for 50 years have been branded as a ‘selfish, small cohort’.

The criticism was made by Ashley Butterfield, chief executive of land promoter AEPG, who told a meeting of business people in Peterborough today, (May 17) that speedway at the Showground was simply not commercially or operationally viable.

He said: “How selfish are a very small cohort of people trying to stop a development for their own sport?

"It meets 14 times a year for three hours a time and for that they are trying to stop this development happening in Peterborough. Really, really selfish.”

Fans of Peterborough Panthers speedway club have been angered that the £50 million leisure-village and 1,500 homes development proposals for the 64 acre Showground site has meant the end of speedway racing at the site after 50 seasons, during which the club win top honours.

Hundreds of objections to AEPG’s outline planning proposals have been submitted to Peterborough City Council with many from speedway fans opposed to the loss of the race track

But Mr Butterfield said: “The reason why we can’t have speedway is because it loses money.

"They keep saying it is viable. It is not. I can show you the records, accounts and the finances over 50 years of losing money.”

The Showground is privately owned by the charity, the East of England Agricultural Society, which says it no longer needs the site and wants to sell.

Mr Butterfield said: “A charity cannot support a sport that is privately owned to lose money.

"Their accounts say it made money. It made £7,000 but that was because the charity was supporting it financially.”

He said no one would commercially support a privately owned business to lose money and no one would buy a house near a speedway track

“So commercially and viability-wise it doesn’t work and operationally to develop housing and leisure, it doesn’t work.”

Why does AEPG say its plans are good for Peterborough?

Mr Butterfield told the meeting of Opportunity Peterborough’s Bondholder meeting that the city was massively under-served in terms of health, fitness, leisure and active lifestyle facilities.

The development seeks to overcome that shortfall.

The central feature is 50 acres devoted to active family entertainment, sport and leisure, called Cultura Place.

Designed by leisure attractions specialist Greenspan, the creator of Volcano Falls in Milton Keynes, the Showground’s leisure village will include an indoor arena, a court for a padel – a mix of tennis and squash – a two storey, state-of-the-art golf driving range, a zip coaster, climbing wall, bungee trampolines, a jump tower and bounce pillow, mini Land Rovers, a bike trail and more.

There will be a 4,640 square metre indoor family entertainment centre plus a 250-bed hotel, a school and a retirement village overseen by the Extracare charitable trust.

The 1,500 residential homes will be ecologically sound and in green space maintained to an ‘exceptional ’ standard.

Will there be a jobs boost for city?

It is expected the development, which could take 12 years to complete, will create about 1,000 jobs and add £55.3 million in the value of goods and services to the city economy.