Asset of community value bid for stadium turned down

A bid to declare a speedway stadium that last held an event in 2019 an 'asset of community value' has been turned down.

The campaign group Swindon Needs Speedway put in the application for Abbey Stadium on Lady Lane in the hope of safeguarding the site against future redevelopment, particularly for housing.

The stadium's owners, Gaming International, made a formal objection against the move and the bid has been refused by Swindon Borough Council.

The council said this was due to a law that says the building can only be declared an asset if it has been used for the purpose of furthering community well-being, currently or in the "recent past".

In its application, Swindon Needs Speedway said: "Abbey Stadium has been a part of the fabric of Swindon sport and the community, and home to Swindon Speedway, for over 70 years and, throughout, has been a key element of the social and leisure provision for the town."

It added: "Speedway is a community, a family-friendly, working-class sport – a place where people met regularly and made friends.

"Abbey Stadium has always been a very popular multi-use arena, providing leisure activities for generations of Swindonians."

If granted, the asset of community value would have meant that if the owners of the stadium looked to sell the site, there would be a period of six months where community groups or charities would be able to put together a proposal to take it on and run it themselves, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

However, due to the site not being used for the sport in the last five years, the council, who consulted with legal experts on the decision, said it did not comply.

"The advice said the legislation defines 'future uses' as within the next five years, and therefore it is reasonable to define 'recent past use' within the last five years," it said.

"As the last speedway to be held at the stadium was in October 2019, more than five years ago, the sport had not been held within the recent past."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.