Save our speedway! Fight to save Peterborough Panthers continues

The battle to save Peterborough Panthers speedway and, specifically, their East of England Showground track, has reached new heights with a protest rally in the heart of the city on Saturday, November 18.

The Panthers have raced on the track for 53 years, however the owners of the 165-acre site are now attempting to sell it for development, prompting the track’s recent closure.

A local consortium dedicated to saving Peterborough speedway has been set-up and says it has a verbal agreement to buy the Panthers from their current owner, who is retiring, but the venture won’t be viable without a track to race around.

Now, a rally in Peterborough attended by 350 fans and nearby residents and supported by local politicians, has cemented its resolve.

The consortium hopes to persuade Asset Earning Power Group (AEPG), which operates the site on behalf of owners, East of England Agricultural Society, to reconsider its plans and allow the Panthers to race on, either at the current track or at a new venue which, the consortium argues, is required in the council’s local plan.

“We’re at a bit of an impasse,” consortium member Mick Bratley said. “We’ve been trying to speak to the operators, but they won’t talk with us and just say their decision is irreversible. They want to clear the site for development.”

But the rally has given extra hope.

“It went very well. We had a good turnout, got our message across, got on ITV news, local radio, we’ve had phenomenal publicity, really.”

So far, however, little has changed.

“The developers continue to not want to get in a room with us. I think they hope we’ll go away but I’m pretty certain that’s not going to happen,” Bratley continued. “We’ve already discounted next season. We’re too late for that. So, we’ve moved our aims to 2025.

“All we’re asking the developer to do is let us back on until they’re close to sinking a brick in the ground, which I think will be four of five years, or to adhere to the local plan and support us in finding a new venue. That’s our biggest argument.”

In a lengthy statement in October, AEPG reaffirmed the need to clear the land to allow prospective development and concluded: “There is no ability to commit to a 2024 speedway season.

“The arrangement to run speedway at the Showground has only ever been on a season-by-season basis and there has never been a long-term commitment on either side to continue.”

Visit facebook.com/savepeterboroughpanthers to join the fight to keep the Panthers going into 2025 and beyond.