Wales oldest circuit appears to be set to disappear beneath a couple of hundred houses...

Linkage

... Okay, it's under developed, under used and not many people have heard of it - but it is there, it is a cracking little sprint track and I can't help but feeling that rather than ripping it up, more should be done to bring racing back there. Admittedly this would probably invove extending it somewhat. I've already put plans for that somewhere mind, so it's definatly possible.

However it also brings home a major problem for motorsports facilities

Britian needs more houses - and that will probably mean venues get more neighbours much closer than ever before. They will probably complain about the nosise and that's the end of, or at least a severe reduction of racing at that venue. There is precident - Look at the reasons Castle Combe lost it's F3 date...

I feel that if people are going to move in next to facilities such as circuits, railways, airports, etc then they have no grounds to complain unless said facilities are exceeding previously agreed limits, i.e. MSA noise limits.

Kev is right in saying that motor sport in Britain is potentially under threat as 3 million new homes are planned by 2020 and this can indeed lead to houses being placed closer to circuits and also places circuits under threat as they are rather tasty development targets.

As the government plan to introduce the home information packs, they should also legislate that any noise complaints against existing facilities from new residents should be ignored as they would have known that said facility exists before moving in, for example if you moved into a house near Heathrow you couldnt start complaining about the noise and win.

Right and breathe!

Hey, why not build a few thousand houses at Silverstone and use the money the developers pay for it to start building a decent track to compete with the newer ones? We're the home of motorsport, we could do with looking a bit better than a mid terrace with a leaking roof, concrete coal bunker and outside bog!

<peek>

I agree with you there, but did you hear about the nutter who moved in next door to Curborough and as well as complaining about the noise from the cars, complained about the tractors, cows mooing and sheep bleating? <yikes>

Like the bloke who bought one of the railway cottages by our railway and complains about the trains whistling. Oh, and they're *not* allowed to whistle at our current northern terminus, no public carpark, not stock left overnight, only x number of trains after a certain time of night per year, etc, etc. How many nearby houses? Count them on one hand, maybe two at very, very best. Of course, the railway in some form has only been there since the 1880s (give or take a 35 year gap between approx 1960-ish and the mid early 90s)

Or people who move in near Gatwick and complain about planes, etc....

<dunce> <dunce> <kaboom> <kaboom>

Some dope tried it at Mondello.

The Irish are no fools. They told him where to stick his law suit.

Here's the plan...



(Image sources : www.llandownewydd.com / Google Earth/maps)

You can just make out the circuit in the bottom right hand corner. Note how the developments leaves the existing industrial areas alone, but obliterate the circuit, kart track (which was initially going to be saved), and WWII aircraft hangers to the south of the circuit.

and the worst thing? there is no way of stopping it without loads of cash. the cash which could be raised by selling the circuit. A crying shame!