• 2006 ~ January

    BARTLETT SECURES WILDCATS LICENCE
    PHIL Bartlett is the new owner of Weymouth speedway
    By Paul Baker Friday 27th January 2006
    Bartlett yesterday assumed control of the Conference League club after completing a deal with former promoter Brian White for the British Speedway Promoters’ Association operating licence. White, who reformed the Wildcats in 2003, was evicted by landlords Weymouth Football Club following disputes over planning and finances before Christmas. He now plans to open a track near Yeovil and is hopeful of being up and running in time for the new season. Bartlett, who runs resort firm Active Mobility and was last year co-chairman at Radipole Lane, said he was ‘delighted’ to be in charge. He added: “I’m pleased to announce that Brian and I have brokered a deal for the Weymouth speedway operating licence. It’s been a long, drawn out affair, but now things are sorted everyone is looking forward to moving on in the right direction.”

    “Despite me having purchased the licence, there is no guarantee that speedway will run this season and so I’d ask supporters to remain cautious at this stage. Firstly, I have to gain acceptance into the Conference League from the competition organisers and that, I’m hoping, will come at a club chairman’s meeting on Monday.

    Meanwhile Bartlett today paid tribute to out-going promoter White, who led the Wildcats to the Conference Fours and Knockout Cup titles last season. “Brian worked tremendously hard to bring speedway back to Weymouth,” added Bartlett, “and will always be remembered and appreciated for doing so, on top of the team success he enjoyed, he also played a big part in the development of young rider Lewis Bridger who is being tipped, quite rightly, as a future world champion. I wish Brian the very best for the future and particularly in his quest to start a track up in Yeovil, the prospect of Weymouth versus Yeovil derbies is fantastic and we all hope that will happen one day soon.”

    “Then of course there’s the planning issue to consider which will be decided by West Dorset District Council on February 16.” He added: “Hopefully everything will work out. Certainly I’m confident it will, otherwise I wouldn’t have purchased the licence. Beyond that, there’s lots of work to be done such as track maintenance and team building, but for now it’s first things first which means entry to the league and the planning.”
     

    PHIL BARTLETT IS SET TO BECOME THE NEW OWNER OF WEYMOUTH SPEEDWAY THIS WEEK
    By Paul Baker Monday 24th January 2006
    The resort-based businessman, who co-promoted the club last season, says he is ‘on the verge’ of a deal to buyout former Wildcats boss Brian White, who was evicted from the Wessex Stadium just before Christmas. Bartlett originally had a £10,000 bid for White’s British Speedway Promoters Association operating licence turned down earlier this month, but an increased offer has now been accepted.

    "Brian and I are on the verge of completing a deal," explained Bartlett, "And I’m very pleased. Since my first offer, a couple of other bidders have joined in, one of whom I understand was Mildenhall promoter Mick Horton. After a bit of soul searching, I decided to match the new offers because I believe it’s important that the ownership and running of the Wildcats should remain in local hands. But it’s not all cut and dried. There is still a bit of work to be done before everything is official. The ball is now in Brian’s court in terms of completing the necessary paperwork. The BSPA has written to both parties to say that something has to be completed by Thursday and I’m hopeful of that happening. If it’s not, they (the BSPA) have warned that Weymouth will not be allowed to enter the Conference League because the meeting to decided the competition’s make-up for 2006 takes place next Monday."

    He added: "As I say, I’m hopeful and confident that the deal will be completed this week. It’s not about individuals or egos, it’s all about Weymouth speedway. If the team is to run, and run successfully, we need to be getting on with things as soon as possible."

    White, who hopes to open a new track in Yeovil during the summer, was today also confident of a deal being done by Thursday. He said: "I can confirm that I have agreed a price for the licence with Phil and it should all be finalised in a day or so. BSPA chairman Peter Toogood returns from a trip to Spain today and I just need to check a couple of details with him. Once that’s done, the licence will be sold to Phil and I wish him and Weymouth speedway all the best for the future."

    With Lewis Bridger having moved to Eastbourne and Dan Giffard snapped up by Redcar, Bartlett admits there’s a lot of work to be done on building a team for the 2006 campaign. "But that’s certainly not my priority," he said. "There are a lot of riders out there looking for team places and so really team building is the last thing on my mind. There are far more important things to worry about if Weymouth is to be up and running by the start of the season and that’s why it’s vital to get the deal done and dusted and put to bed."
     

    TOWN COUNCILLORS BACK SPEEDWAY
    By Laura Williams Saturday 21 January 2006
    CHICKERELL town councillors have given their backing to Weymouth speedway. Despite previously refusing to support the application Chickerell Town Council will now recommend that West Dorset District Council approve the application. But assistant town clerk Vanessa Ricketts said the town council would like to see several conditions imposed.

    Members at a meeting of the full council heard representations from up to 16 residents before voting to recommend the application for approval. The vote was not unanimous and several members either voted against the motion or abstained. Mrs Ricketts said there were seven conditions which included no practice sessions or air horns and restricting meetings to once a week - to be finished by 10pm. The town council also requests that a full sound survey is carried out and the site continues to be monitored by environmental health officers to prevent noise nuisance or excessive air pollution.

    Speedway organiser Brian White applied for planning permission to West Dorset District Council last August but withdrew the application in October to carry out a sound survey. The application has now been resubmitted for consideration at a meeting of the development and control committee of West Dorset District Council next month.

    Mrs Ricketts said: "In the new application there was increased sound protection which showed the council that the applicant was trying to address the issue. But the council does not think he has gone far enough." She said councillors wanted to see a further grass bund for noise reduction. She added: "The council wants to see more soundproofing, better control of the noise and better regulation of the meetings. It would like to see these matters properly enforced and adhered to."

    The recommendation from Chickerell Town Council will go forward to West Dorset District Council but is not binding. Earlier this week Mr White announced that he would be selling the licence to run speedway at the Wessex Stadium in Radipole Lane, Weymouth. Before any sale is completed full planning permission will need to be agreed by West Dorset District Council. Anyone wishing to comment must do so in writing or by e-mail before January 27.
     

    REPRIEVE FOR CATS?
    By Paul Baker Monday 16 January 2006
    SPEEDWAY racing in Weymouth is set for a dramatic reprieve. Former Wildcats promoter Brian White, who was evicted from the Wessex Stadium in November, has today agreed to sell his exclusive British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) rights to run the sport in the town. White, who is now hoping to build a new track in Yeovil, revealed he has reached an agreement with two potential unnamed buyers, one of whom is believed to be a successful Elite League promoter. And subject to planning permission and approval from landlords Weymouth Football Club, a deal should be completed this week.

    White told Echosport: "I am delighted. I have received two acceptable bids for my BSPA licence which allows the holder to operate speedway within a 30-mile radius of Weymouth. Although my relationship with the football club became untenable, I certainly didn't want to see the sport die. At this stage I have agreed to keep the identities of the bidders private, along with the amount of money involved. What I will say is that both parties are reputable and with great knowledge of speedway. Until now, I had received one offer of £10,000 from my ex-co-chairman Phil Bartlett which was not enough following the BSPA's valuable of £50,000. However, these latest offers are acceptable and so fans can read between the lines as to a figure.

    "I am meeting with both potential buyers again within the next couple of days and it will be a case of who can sort things out the quickest as to who obtains the licence. Any sale is subject to a renewal of planning permission to run at the Wessex Stadium and agreement from the football club, but we're hoping to have guarantees in place on these matters by the end of the week." He added: "I am pleased that the situation is nearing a satisfactory conclusion."

    Terras chief executive Gary Calder said he welcomed the news and is hopeful that speedway will continue at the Wessex Stadium. "We are pleased to hear that there are a couple of serious bidders for the speedway licence. We never wanted the sport to disappear and we're now hopeful it won't. We now plan to sit down and talk to the prospective promoters."
     

    SETTLE THE DIFFERENCES: Wildcats’ skipper David Mason wants an end to the wrangling so that speedway can continue in Weymouth - Skipper Mason urges Terras and Wildcats to save Weymouth speedway
    By Paul Baker Saturday 14th January 2006
    DAVID Mason has urged Weymouth Football Club chiefs and Wildcats promoter Brian White to settle their differences and save speedway in the town. The Wildcats skipper says the sport can not afford to lose another team following the recent collapse of sides such as Wimbledon, Sittingbourne and Armadale.

    e said: “I don’t know all the ins’ and oats of what’s happened at Weymouth. Like most people, I’ve read the saga with interest and spoken to Brian regularly about it. But when all is said and done, I just hope the two parties and sort their differences and keep speedway going in the town. The real losers if it folds will be the fans, the riders and British speedway itself. Teams like Wimbledon and Armadale have already quit the Conference League while plans for a new track at Plymouth next season are far from cut and dried. If we lose any more then speedway’s going to be in a real crisis. There are complaints that Britain doesn’t produce enough topclass riders. But what chance have we got if good breeding grounds like Weymouth disappear. There are just not enough sides for British riders to ride in any more and the higher you go, ie the Premier and Elite Leagues, the more foreigners there are making up the numbers.

    “A fine example of why we need Weymouth to continue is Lewis Bridger. He’s got the potential to make it all the way to the top, but that wouldn’t be the case had Brian not given him his chance last season.” He added: “We have proved that speedway works in Weymouth. We attract some of the biggest crowds in the country and last season won both the Conference League Fours title and the Knock Out Cup. It would be foolish to let it die again and I’d urge the decision makers to think long and hard before letting that happen.’

    Mason, 29, also fears that Weymouth’s closure will result in a number of riders ending up on the scrap heap, including himself. “Apart from Lewis Bridger who has gone to Eastbourne,” he explained, “the careers of all the other Weymouth riders are under threat. All the Premier teams have sorted their riders for 2006 and there’s just not enough teams to go around in Conference. “Guys like myself, Dan Giffard and Tom Brown could end up on the scrap heap because of this and it’s a situation that just wouldn’t occur in any other sport. When I left the Wessex Stadium following last year’s final meeting, as far as I knew I’d be back to ride for the Wildcats in 2006. On the basis of that information, I have bought all my equipment, new engines — the lot. The same goes for Dan and Tom and I can tell you it’s not cheap stuff At the moment it’s all sat in our respective garages and work shops and it looks like it might end up staying there. All us riders have families to feed and mortgages to pay so it’s a very worrying time for us. When the decision was made to kick speedway out of the Wessex Stadium, there was obviously no thought given to how it would effect the lives of all those who make their living from the sport. Sport can be ruthless, especially speedway — we accept that before we go into it, But it just seems both unfair and a great waste and I just hope a compromise can be reached.”

    If, as expected, there is no speedway in Weymouth next summer, Mason’s only hope is that Brian White opens his proposed new track at Yeovil in time’ to enter a side into the Conference. He added: “If Weymouth is dead in the water then I know Brian plans to rush a track through in Yeovil. If he does, I’ve told him I’ll go with him and I’m delighted that he wants me there. I still hope I’ll be riding for the Wildcats, as does Dan Giffard, Tom Brown and all the other Weymouth lads. But if it’s Yeovil, then so be it. Brian’s a good promoter who has always been honest and fair to his riders and we owe him that loyalty in return.”
     

    RACE AGAINST TIME: The future of speedway at the Wessex Stadium Buyout ultimatum over speedway ~ EXCLUSIVE
    By PAUL BAKER Saturday 7th January 2006
    BRIAN White has given Weymouth Football Club a fortnight to decide the future of speedway in the town. Terras officials are believed to want to promote the sport themselves, after evicting the Wildcats boss from the Wessex Stadium last month. However, they can’t do so without acquiring the British Speedway Promoters’ Association licence, allowing the holder exclusive rights to operate racing within a 30-mile radius of the resort. That licence is currently owned by White, who has today issued a two-week deadline for the Terras to purchase it from him. Speaking in depth for the first time about the falling-out, White told Echosport: “I have said very little since my eviction from the Wessex Stadium, but think supporters now have a right to know the truth.”

    “A week before they served notice on me I had met with Terras chief executive Gary Calder, and the understanding I came out with was that I would run speedway again as a tenant in 2006. Seven days later I received my marching orders completely out of the blue, with the club citing ‘financial and planning’ issues as their reason for doing so. It seems to me they want me out so that they could run speedway, which makes sense in a way, because they would have no rent to pay, so the profits to them would be much higher. However, what they maybe failed to understand was that I own the exclusive rights to run speedway in this part of the world. Since then they have been in touch with the BSPA to try and obtain a licence themselves and have been told that the only way they can have one is to buy it off me. I gather the football club have asked the BSPA to revoke my licence on financial and planning grounds, but the BSPA have come back to them saying that in their opinion I have done nothing wrong and that there are no grounds to take my licence away, obviously the Terras weren’t expecting that answer and are now blankly refusing to purchase the licence froth me. They got me out of the Wessex Stadium thinking they’d just pick up the licence and run it themselves, but it’s backfired on them.”

    White revealed that he too has had meetings with BSPA chairman Peter Toogood following which, he claims, he received the ‘full support’ of speedway’s governing body. He said: “It was important that I cleared up the accusations levelled at me by the football club, namely that I was financially unreliable and that I did not have planning permission to operate at the site. Firstly on the financial side, the football club accused me of continual late payment of rent. My deal was a play-and-pay arrangement where would I run a meeting and then pay the charge for that meeting within a week. A couple of times I went over that deadline by a day or so and the longest the football club had to wait was a week and a half. They now claim I owe them £1,117, but can’t seem to tell me what for. The BSPA have been through my accounts and are satisfied that there are no financial issues for me to worry about. As for the planning, when my temporary permission ended in July the advice I got from the council was that they would not take action against me if I continued until October as long as I re-applied for permission before next season and complied with a number of recommendations such as installing anti-noise banks around the track.

    “We stuck to this, and the BSPA have seen evidence of this agreement with West Dorset District Council. Again, the BSPA say I have no case to answer.” He added: ‘Also, the BSPA have studied my contract with the football club which clearly states I could run speedway at the Wessex Stadium until I was required to move from the site to make way for the future ASDA development. After seeing how successful speedway was, I was then told by Weymouth FC that if I committed to run speedway for a further ten years from when the development was completed, they would guarantee that a speedway track would be included in the new site. The BSPA have studied my books, contract and all my paperwork. If they could see anything wrong they would have taken my licence away, they can’t and are behind me 100 per cent, which is encouraging.”

    White, who is now planning to build a new circuit near Yeovil, urged the Terras to ‘do the right thing for the sake of Wildcat supporters everywhere.’ He said: “I want speedway to carry on in the town. Who wouldn’t after all the work that went in to bring it back? I’m happy to sell the licence to whoever wants it but it has a price on it, which has been set by the BSPA. They value it at £50,000. That’s not a figure I’ve come up with, it’s a BSPA valuation. If Weymouth Football Club want it, they need to get something sorted within the next couple of weeks. The Conference League meets to sort out the make up of next season at the end of this month and so time is against us all. If things aren’t sorted by then, I’ll have to go in and take all that’s mine at the Wessex Stadium the shale, pits, fence, tractors, equipment etc. I’m looking to build another circuit in the Yeovil area and those things will come in handy up there. Ripping up the Wessex Stadium is not what I want to do but I will be left with little choice. More than 700 people have regularly been watching speedway in Weymouth, and it’s them I feel sorry for.”
     

    Promoter raises hopes that Wessex Stadium will be allowed to run Speedway Chief says racing can take place
    By PETER HAWKINS Dorset Echo Friday 6th January 2006
    SPEEDWAY promoter Brian White has raised hopes that racing will take place in 2006 after he applied for permanent permission to use the track at Weymouth Football Club. Although the local promoter has been evicted from the Wessex Stadium he has applied to West Dorset District Council for permanent permission to use the venue as a speedway track and retrospective permission for the grandstand and bar. Mr White, who owns the exclusive rights to run speedway within 30-miles of Weymouth, said he was making the application in the hope that the sport could continue next season while he looked to sell his promoters licence.

    The application; which also includes plans for new fencing and advertising boards, is a resubmitted version of an earlier scheme that was withdrawn in October 2005 because of noise issues. Included are proposals to-reduce the amount of noise produced by speedway meetings such as a ban on air horns at the club grounds and a smaller time for riders to warm up their bikes. Planning officers at West Dorset District council said the earliest date for the planning authority to discuss the application would be in mid-February but a more realistic time would be mid-March.

    Planning officer Andrew Martin said that unless a new acoustic test was carried out at the grounds then the application was likely to fail. Mr White, who re-established speedway racing in Weymouth in 2003, said: “My hopes are to keep the sport going so someone can buy the licence off me.” A bid to purchase the operator’s licence by speedway co-chairman Phil Bartlett fell through after the two men failed to negotiate a deal last month.

    Weymouth Football Club has expressed an interest in buying the licence after holding talks with the British Speedway Promoters’ Association (BSPA) and has included a speedway track in its plans for a new stadium. Football bosses had said they were no longer willing to have Mr White as a tenant at the Wessex Stadium, as he no longer had planning permission to run the races and had not kept up to date with payments to the club.

    The BSPA will meet at the end of January to discuss arrangements including venues and teams for the 2006 Conference League competition.

    WHAT DO YOU THINK?
    WRITE TO THE EDITOR OR E-MAIL YOUR COMMENTS TO: letters@dorsetecho.co.uk
     

    TERRAS CONSIDER CATS TAKEOVER
    By Paul Burbidge Daily Echo Tuesday 3rd January 2006
    WEYMOUTH Football Club could be the next promoters of speedway in the resort. Terras representatives have met with the sport’s governing body the British speedway Promoters’ Association (BSPA) and are believed to be interested in taking over the Wildcats’ licence from former operator Brian White.

    White, who last month was evicted from the Wessex Stadium due to fmancial and planning concerns, holds exclusive rights to run speedway within a 30-mile radius of the town. Echo sport understand the Terras are keen to obtain the licence in time to enter a side in next season’s conference League competition. Football club chief executive Gary Calder confirmed that a meeting had taken place with BSPA chairman Peter Toogood, who is also owner of Premier League outfit Somerset Rebels.

    Calder said: “At no time have we ever said we didn’t want speedway at the Wessex Stadium. We are keen for the sport to continue and I can confirm that BSPA chairman Peter Toogood has been down for talks and for a general look around the place. Details of our talks will remain private at this stage. When there is something to report an announcement will be made.

    Meanwhile Toogood stressed that the BSPA were also keen to see the Wildcats back in action this summer. “We work for the good of speedway and obviously we’re hoping racing will continue in a successful speedway town like Weymouth,” he said “I have been down and had a meeting with the football club about the future and have also talked in depth to Brian White about the situation. I am now awaiting a reply from Brian on a couple of matters and that is all I and the BSPA are prepared to say at this time.”

    White, who has put his licence up for sale, added: “After all the work that went into bringing speedway back to Weymouth, I am desperate to see it continue. My licence is now up for sale and I have had a number of enquires, both locally and from up country but I have had no contact with Weymouth Football Club about it, or anyone representing them. The only firm offer has come from my co-chairman from last season Phil Bartlett. He had talks with me about taking the licence over, but we were some way apart on a price. The BSPA has valued my licence at one figure, Phil was looking to pay another. What’s important is that Weymouth speedway fans have some speedway to watch in the town next summer.”

    If the Wildcats are to race again next season a deal will need to be brokered by the end of this month when the BSPA meet to decide the league set-up and arrange fixtures for 2006.
     
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