Work has resumed on rebuilding the Abbey Stadium after months of delay.

In recent weeks a large wooden noise barrier has been put up around the greyhound and former speedway venue, just off the A419, to act as a noise barrier for nearby houses.

More activity has also been noticed on the northern side of the stadium.

But, according to a spokesman for Stadia UK, also known as Gaming International, which owns and runs the stadium, the work does not mean the Swindon Robins speedway team will return to the venue.

The plan is for the existing stands on the southern side to be removed, with a new stand and customer facilities to be put up on the northern side, with the track remaining in situ.

Swindon Advertiser:

As part of the planning permission for the stadium and the houses to be built nearby, the venue must be built before the houses go up

Local borough councillor Daniel Adams said: “It’s good to see work starting again after such a long delay. It’s such an important facility to have here and it’ll be much improved when it's finally finished.

“A lot of people have been asking me what’s going on here for a long time. They really want to know what’s happening.”

Coun Adams said he hoped that when the stadium was finished it might become the home of the Swindon Robins speedway team, but a stadium spokesman said that still was not part of the plans.

The spokesman said: “The work ongoing at Abbey Meads Stadium is being completed in accordance with the provisions of the previous planning application.

“As we announced in September 2022, there are no plans for the return of speedway to Abbey Meads Stadium, nor for the provision of any other form of motorsports. At this stage, for various commercial reasons, we are unfortunately unable to provide further comment."

Swindon Advertiser:

The spokesman added that the company set up between Swindon Speedway and  Gaming International was still looking for a new venue within a “45-minute drive” of the centre of Swindon.

They added: “This forms the core of our ambition to locate, acquire, and obtain planning permission to operate a new motorsports arena to accommodate speedway and car racing, with an expandable capacity of up to 5,000 spectators.

“Swindon Motorsports Limited has appointed Savills to lead the formal process of identifying and reviewing potential sites and progress is ongoing.”