22 replies to this topic

[zakeriath]

From the Manipe web site


In a major redevelopment of the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England, St Modwen developers have proposed to wipe out three of the circuit's most famous corners in order to secure the long-term future of the race. After the frightening revelations of last week with the Belgian Grand Prix being cancelled due to lack of top-class facilities, St Mowden Properties has put foreward a plan to alter the current track layout to make room for new plots of land, which could be sold to make money, money that would be needed to keep the race alive.

The plans would see Club, Abbey and Bridge corners disappear off the map. Both Club and Abbey have been a corner on the Silverstone circuit since it's opening in the mid-ninties, with Bridge being added in 1991. The news was broken by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which also revealed that President of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), owners of Silverstone, Sir Jackie Stewart is in favour of the proposals. They will be presented to the BRDC next week for discussion, and Stewart has recommended that the members accept the proposals.

Is the new plan available for all to see?

[Doug Nye]

Just hold your water - that's not an accurate picture of potential Silverstone developments to be voted on by the owning BRDC membership this coming week (though it might serve the purposes of a small and noisy faction within the Club).

DCN

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Doug Nye
Just hold your water -
DCN

So this is all p*ss and wind then ....

The grammar and spelling of the original announcement are pretty much b*ll*cks anyway:

Both Club and Abbey have been a corner on the Silverstone circuit since it's opening in the mid-ninties, with Bridge being added in 1991.

So 1991 is in the second half of the decade then .....

[Twin Window]

Mind you, if three other turns were to be removed, it would go some way to restoring the circuit to its 'proper' - and infinitely preferable - eight-turn layout...

[ehagar]

Let me get this straight... They are proposing housing developments on the edge of the circuit? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

[Terry Walker]

Yes indeed - housing developments. Then the newcomers complain about the noise, testing sessions have to be curtailed, race meetings reduced , and it's bye bye Silverstone.

Guaranteeing the future of Silverstone?

Probably as a golf course, not a circuit.

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by zakeriath
From the Manipe web site

St Mowden Properties has put foreward a plan to alter the current track layout to make room for new plots of land, which could be sold to make money, money that would be needed to keep the race alive.

That worked out so well for Kyalami...

[simon drabble]

Kyalami is a suburb of JoBerg and as such probably doesnt have quite the same environmentalist (aka people buying local property at e noise "driven" discount which would be reversed with a ban) pressures that we do leading to Castle Combe, Goodwood and Thruxton having noise restrictions.
As an aside given JYS has subsequently been found to have an undisclosed interest on some of the other BRDC decisions do we know whether he is completely independant to this propert company?

[bill moffat]

Well it started out as an airfield, I guess we could take out another 8 corners or so and get back to how it all started...;)

[ianselva]

Originally posted by ehagar
Let me get this straight... They are proposing housing developments on the edge of the circuit? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

That must rank as one of the most stupid suggestions for a circuit ever. I have just been told that my plans to race at Monza this year have been put on hold because of a legal challenge to the circuit becsause of noise. If this is happening to Monza in Italy what chance is there of long term survival of Silverstone ?

[MonzaDriver]

Originally posted by Terry Walker
...........Guaranteeing the future of Silverstone?

Probably as a golf course, not a circuit.

Yes Terry, and if you think about it it's perfectly logic.
If you think about people who run motor racing all along this years,
what they really love is Golf, not motor racing. Team owner, drivers, politicians, journalists.....

MonzaDriver.

[Doug Nye]

Aah. I should withdraw part of my previous post in this thread. But for the archive I will leave it undeleted. Things might indeed be getting noisy...

DCN

[simon drabble]

should we therefore assume from that comment that you are firmly in the JYS camp?

[Doug Nye]

Absolutely wrong Simon - largely because I don't really know what you might mean by 'the JYS camp' since that was 'struck' some time ago. Anyway, it's inappropriate for me to enlarge any further right now. Connoisseurs of the cock-up theory of life should perhaps merely watch the available space - and absorb anything which appears in the press over the next few days with a healthy degree of suspicion/cynicism. To cover all aspects of the BRDC's complex and multi-layered plans/ambitions/requirements/deals would take hundreds of pages - never mind three or four inches, single column... The really sad thing is that so much grubby linen is being washed in public, when in truth it's ONLY mildly grubby - it's not actually DIRTY. Or at least, that's the way it appears to me.

DCN

[Graham Gauld]

Well said, Doug. I am appalled at some of the comments passed by people here who are giving knee jerk reactions to all sorts of alleged plots and theories out of total ignorance. Part of the problems we have in the world today are because people are too willing to accept whatever conspiracy theory anyone cares to create, provided it fits their mental profile of the situation.

[simon drabble]

sadly it seems not all decisions made in recent times have been as independant as they perhaps should have been.

[RTH]

Last Tuesday's Telegraph business section ran a piece on St Modwen Properties, they declared a 15 % rise in annual profits to £46.3 M and have achieved "prefered bidder " status to take over Silverstone Motor Racing Circuit but that will only happen if the BRDC membership decide to sell.

St Modwen already own outright the 450 acre Longbridge site a time deadline passed last week and they will now proceed with obtaining planning consent from Birmingham city council to re-develope 350 of those acres of factory buildings and brown field site in to housing estates , retail and warehousing. The remaining 100 acres of factory buildings Nanjing say they want to arrange a short term lease and possibly also a medium term lease if terms can be agreed. Otherwise we can expect this to go for re-development as well.

With the present massive pressure on to build houses anywhere and everywhere in the south of England and the Deputy Prime Ministers willingness to fast track consent for anywhere that could possibly be defined as pre-used or brown field for housing schemes , the bigger the better.

This sort of development is evidently just up St Modwen and their partners' street .

Well you don't need to be a genius to guess what the likely long term outcome here is likely to be.

[Doug Nye]

Not sure if this is really TNF material but - what was intended to have been the confirmation/rejection extraordinary general meeting of the BRDC took place earlier today and after an 'animated' debate and question and answer session no vote was taken on the embryo joint venture property deal, a majority of the voting members saying they simply did not know enough about the deal to vote on it...

So they voted instead to postpone The Vote - while the board has been sent off to review the proposals, and moreso their fine detail, and report back.

Democracy rules.

DCN

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by Doug Nye

Not sure if this is really TNF material but...

I think the venue in question's status within the history of the F1 World Championship qualifies it well enough, Doug.

No blood on the walls, then?

[Doug Nye]

...nothing, it would appear, that a well-turned tourniquet could not control....

DCN

[RTH]

What is all this about thr BRDC Board to face a vote of confidence from it's members ?

Which sides of the present scare are the board on ? What is the likely outcome ?

Anyone got an inside line ?

[simon drabble]

at least one previous decision made by either the board or JYS have later shown possible conflicts of interest - maybe the members just need to be sure they are not being sold short...

[RTH]

Originally posted by simon drabble
at least one previous decision made by either the board or JYS have later shown possible conflicts of interest - maybe the members just need to be sure they are not being sold short...

Is this a part of the story ?

http://www.autosport...e=news&id=49777