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Move to stop driving centre
Tuesday 13th May 2008, 10:24PM BST.
More than 100 villagers are expected to turn out for a massive demonstration against a multi-million pound driving centre on an airfield near Stafford.
The protesters, who fear noise and traffic problems if the scheme goes ahead, will lobby the entrance to the Driveme.net site at Seighford Airfield on Saturday morning.
Protest organiser Anthony Bennett, who lives in Ranton, says they want a show of strength to bring home to the powers that be just how solid the opposition is.
“I am expecting at least 100 people to stand with us at the entrance to the Driveme.net site,” he said.
“More than 300 letters of objection have already been sent to the council and in addition to Saturday’s demonstration we will be lobbying the meeting which will consider the application on June 4.
“I have three children, one at school and the other two starting soon and we don’t want fast cars travelling the roads around the villages,” said Mr Bennett, a 36-year-old salesman in the steel industry.
He said some of the roads which children use to get to school are narrow and have no pavement.
Flintshire-based Driveme has been coaching drivers in performance cars such as the Audi R8, Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo at the airfield.
The company has now applied for permission to create a £12 million performance car driving experience centre there, saying it will bring jobs and investment to the area without impacting on the environment or nearby roads.
Mr Bennett added that Driveme has already had three planning applications refused, including all the buildings presently on the site.
They have also had a lawful development change of use application refused.
“We also object to the massive traffic flows this will generate. This is a huge site and will increase traffic through all the local surrounding villages,” said Mr Bennett.
“You just cannot bulldoze over countryside that has protected species like badgers, barn owls, buzzards, bats and a significant, internationally important population of great crested newts.
“There are also significant nesting birds such as skylark and lapwing, grey partridge and reed bunting. For comparing purposes Doxey Marshes nature reserve has eight pairs of skylark and eight pairs of Lapwing in 121 hectares. This site in 40 hectares has eight skylark nesting pairs and five lapwing.”
Mr Bennett added: “We need Stafford Borough Council to kick this application, and Driveme, into touch and issue a stop notice on Driveme and not let them continue this site.”
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This is very stupid. They are going to drive fast on THE AIRFIELD in a supercar, if they don’t know the difference between driving a supercar and driving their regular car on the roads – then these people are going to kill people anywhere they go regardless aren’t they. Should we also shut silverstone? Tut. Residents need to get a life.
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Mr Bennett and the residents of all the villages affected by the current, and worse still proposed activities, are right to object as the hazard of extra traffic on the narrow country lanes and to the noise from these high performance cars which is already a great nuisance. The operators of Driveme clearly have no regard for local residents and no regard for the laws concerning change of use and planning permissions as they are currently operating this activity unlawfully.
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Kai seems to miss the point. The type of driver attracted to these events is there for the speed and does not adjust to careful driving immediately they get back on the public roads. Anyway, this is a rural area an residents should not be subjected to such an intrusion.
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I think that everyone should get a life and find something more important to complain about eg: War and Poverty!
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really Danobaggs? no one should complain about anything in their lives except for major world issues?
how about the environment? how about if a council who spend all their time telling people to recycle and car share etc to save fuel then allow a company to race petrol drinking sports cars all day for fun?
Or build on areas where protected animals breed
of have hundreds of extra cars driving down tiny country lanes. Are THEY big enough issues for you or is it just war and poverty? Maybe more people should care what happens in their local areas.
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Excuse me…pmsl..what the hell are you on about.
The type of drivers who are attracted to speed..
Ive never heard such twoddle in my life mate.
I have brought as gifts driving experiences for my young 18 year old daughter,husband.sister and myself.My daughter at 18 drove and raced a testarossa.porsche.rs turbo rally car.humby.bus.tank.Why shouldnt she….Mr Bennett has no idea…he may as well stick his head in a bucket and complain its dark.The performance cars that are driven on the airfield..ARE NOT ON THE ROAD!!.They are not being driven on your grass verges or scaring a horse rider(like i have to suffer.
A person can be killed at 25/40 miles an hour driven by an old woman in a nissan micra.
Leave Andy alone to get on with his business letting people have a once in a life time drive.He doesnt allow the cars to be thrashed..they cost to much money…hes self made..hes a nice decent man..and i think the locals are peeved and green eyed!!
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I’ve seen the plans and there is loads of space for nature and conservation on the site. I also think that the noise would be a lot less if the plans go ahead. As for the traffic, if you read up about it in the report there won’t be queues of traffic at peak times because start times are staggered and local villages won’t be effected because the route to the M6 doesn’t pass through them.
This is not Brands Hatch or Silverstone it is about 15 cars at any one time from memory so the numbers aren’t massive anyway.
This site could have been a massive housing estate or a prison by now!
I can’t see what all the fuss is about – Stafford could do with the jobs and something to rival the castle!!
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We’re talking about 33 cars on the track at any one time(not racing of course if you believe driveme); 1500 people a day on the site (with all their cars – there is no public transport to speak of); as well as a central hub building open until 2.00 am. for corporate entertainment etc. The majority of the people in the locality are against the site if you look at the response to the planning application the Borough Council have received. Their reasons are various, including the irritating noise and additional traffic. This is a rural landscape under threat according to the Council’s own criteria and it, as well as the wildlife living there needs protection from an entirely inappropriate development. Andy may be a thoroughly nice guy and Breeze says leave him alone to run his business. Let Driveme leave us alone to live the lives we chose in peaceful countryside with cows and crops, not cars. Go back to Liverpool and find a brownfield site on some industrail wasteland!
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People keep calling the site an airfield. This is incorrect, the site was used in the WW2 as a runway. In no way can it be considered an airfield. It is mearly a disused runway from over 50 years ago. Their license for lawful use has been refused and Stafford’s council should have stopped them from trading. God forbid this should go ahead, it will affect everyone within the Stafford area, plus Newport. People must realise this, it doesn’t just affect the surrounding villages, it will affect everyone with thousands of more cars on the road driving past your home at 2am. Do you want this? We dont.
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I have a suggestion, maybe it should be re-opened as an Airfield.
I have had three housing estates pop up in my area, you should think yourself lucky about the one or two extra cars.
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I think the people protesting should look a lot closer to home, i have ridden (pedal cycle) through both villages numerous times and have been very surprised that any of the villagers can complain when i see some properties with 3 or 4 cars on a driveway and i am not talking small engined economical vehicles i’m talking big greedy fuel drinking bmw’s and 4×4′s (yes the bain of the environmental protestor).
I had the misfortune of having to pass the protest some weeks ago and was amazed to find that these people continually waffle on about how this track will cause pollution and damage to the local environment etc and who all live within walking distance of the track yet i still counted over 20 vehicles (including the dreaded 4×4′s) parked alongside the road, surely if these people are truely bothered about the environment, local nature and pollution they would have either walked or arranged to car share so they wouldn’t be adding to the earths problems???
I wonder how long it will be before they try to have the HGV centre (also used by the police at times for ADT) stopped from using the other end of the “runway” or are they not bothered about big Diesel lorries rumbling up and down the roads they mention (which as we all know cause a heck of a lot more damage than a car)??
I see none of the protestors mention the drone of the tow plane from the glider club next door to the driving track (or the powered gliders), could this be because some of them may be involved with the aforementioned club?
Neither do they mention the noise from the american “muscle” car workshops on the industrial estate testing their cars along the B5405 between Grt Bridgeford and Woodseaves
Oh and of course there doesn’t seem to be any mention of the Stan Robinson Haulage company which uses………big heavy diesel fume belching lorries!!!
Of course those protestors with children at the school in Seighford will be making their children outcasts by refusing to allow them to take part in any of the activities that the owners of the track have given the school the oppertunity to carry out at the track (cart racing i believe) after all they couldn’t be seen to allow their children the chance to take part in the activities when they are so determined to get rid of the track.
I now hear rumours that the same ground the track is on is earmarked for development of housing, if the rumours are correct there are plans for 1000 houses to be built on the land and as it is a government order i really can not see any protests doing any good against the development!!
I wonder how many of the new tennants of such a development will have vehicles like 4×4′s and other large engined high pollutors?
Imagine the smog cloud that will gather above the area between 07:00 and 09:00 as people start their cars to go to work or take their children to school!!!
Still it will be much better than having 30 or so cars running around a track won’t it!
Stafford needs more people like the owners/operators of this track, it needs more work and more jobs this town has been in decline since the loss of GEC, BRC and of course Lotus, although many of the protestors would probably suffer palpitations at the thought of their children carrying out manual labour in a factory it is a fact of life that everyone has a right to earn a living and if this track brings more jobs then the council would be idiots to stop it.
After all i have seen, heard and read i have come to the conclusion that the protestors are nothing more than jealous nimby’s and hypocritical ones at that.
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