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[EwanM]

More woes for Donington GP plans
The future of the British Grand Prix at Donington Park faces further uncertainty after a council announced a review of its planning permission.

Permission was granted in January for a £100m revamp of the circuit, including a new pit and paddock complex and extension to the track.

North West Leicestershire District Council said it would review that decision at a meeting on 5 May.

Donington Park said the circuit would be ready in time for the 2010 race.

Permission was granted at a special planning committee meeting at the start of the year subject to a section 106 agreement and it was agreed by Donington Park that this would be completed by the end of March.

It is thought conditions placed at the time may not now be met.

The council then extended that deadline and Donington Park owners now have until the end of May.

The authority has recommended that planning permission is refused if the conditions are not met.

The section 106 covers certain safety and environmental issues, travel and transportation plans and monitoring fees.

Legal proceedings:

Leader of North West Leicestershire District Council, councillor Richard Blunt, said: "The council has already extended the deadline for signing the agreement by another month, allowing four months in total, and has continued to work with Donington Park to meet the deadlines and terms of the permission.

"We can't keep extending the deadline for signing the agreement.

"Donington Park has already started construction and to allow further, unchecked construction to take place may make the original planning permission invalid and any future control the council may wish to retain over events would be severely diluted."

On Thursday it was revealed that legal proceedings had been issued against the company leasing the track over £2.47m in rent arrears dating back to September 2008.

A Donington Park spokesman said "all the conditions will be met" and it was "still confident that the Grand Prix will take place".

The circuit has a 10-year contract to host the race, starting in 2010.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 019178.stm

[Jensonb]

Well and truly.

[Frosty]

They are just leaping from one disaster to another it's becoming a complete farce!

[7UpJordan]

It's almost as farcical as the construction of the new Wembley Stadium! Are they using the same building contractors?

[racechick]

They are just leaping from one disaster to another it's becoming a complete farce!

Kind of obvious this was gonna happen

[McLaren Fan]

It's disappointing that Donington can't get things together, but completely unsurprising.

[cap-dude]

It's almost as farcical as the construction of the new Wembley Stadium! Are they using the same building contractors?

It's England, they might as well be. They should get the foreign workers in.

Will the circuit be ready for 2010. Sure it will, They hope

[Jensonb]

It's almost as farcical as the construction of the new Wembley Stadium! Are they using the same building contractors?

It's England, they might as well be. They should get the foreign workers in.

Will the circuit be ready for 2010. Sure it will, They hope

"You not like, you hire English workers. Drink tea, scratch balls, charge two times as much!"

[darwin dali]

What? Is Disney going to England???

[EwanM]

What? Is Disney going to England???

Surely you know what I mean hehe

[Gilles 27]

i always feared this was going to happen once Donnington got the contract. I've been to Donnington, I was at the European GP in 1993 and I have never considered it a venue capable of holding a F1 race in the modern climate. There was always going to be too much work to do and too little time/money.

I'm amazed no-one is highlighting the similarities between the occasion when Brand's Hatch secured the contract to host F1 races and failed to complete the track modifications in time, thus paying Silverstone to host the race for them in order to avoid a breach of contract and now. Silverston is apparently written out of this contract so if Donnington fail to produce, Bernie gets the cash?

[EwanM]

I eluded to it in the first thread that was published until it turned Irn Bru.

I'd agree with you though the Octagon Group screwed up on that one. However the Donnington Contract is far more serious.

[Gilles 27]

Yup, Silverstone are not in a position to bail Donnington out... I'll be absolutely amazed if Donnington actually hosts the British GP in 2010, not taking into account the recent legal troubles. it just always seemed too much of an ask

[EwanM]

Yup, Silverstone are not in a position to bail Donnington out... I'll be absolutely amazed if Donnington actually hosts the British GP in 2010, not taking into account the recent legal troubles. it just always seemed too much of an ask

And then there will be no British Grand Prix, which is a disgrace. I'm still fuming there isn't one in France.
However, (and I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way), but there is more MODERN heritage in today's F1 that comes from Britain. Most of the teams are based there, the major publications are British, the FIA and Commercial right supremos are British etc etc.s
In this case F1 need to Race in Britain!

[Gilles 27]

F1 belongs in a number of countries because of the contributions these countries have made over the years. Italy, Germany, France and Britain should NEVER at any stage be absent from the calender. It's completely insane for me to think that France, who invented Grand Prix racing and Britain which is the home of F1, can be without F1 races.