Palmer Park Decline

[Deleted member 35268]

My local velodrome is now not fit for competitions. The latest in a succession of neglected tracks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-31973300

I've been to Palmer Park many a time, usually in winter to train.
I don't understand why the people that run the Velo have let this get to this point, I expect they need the council to stump up some money.

 

[Mummy3monkeys]

That's a shame!!

 

[oldroadman]

it is, all these places (Reading, Brighton, Mountbatten, are very large outdoor tracks with little if any banking and not much in the way of track characteristics. Possibly Herne Hill (which dates back a long way but has been looked after in the last few years) is an example of how an outdoor venue should be. I know Brighton and Mountbatten are 100+ years old, and look it. They will need serious money spent to sort them out to where they should be safe. Might be better just to rip them up and build 250/333/400 tracks with proper bankings and fences, but councils are strapped for cash and grants hard to come by. So the best to be hoped for is some patching up to an acceptable standard, which still leaves an ongoing maintenance problem to be funded for well out of date facilities. At least, I suppose, they can run road bike events on them as beginners events, once the places are sorted out.