Karts project is set to stall

YORKSHIRE farmer William Falkingham has come off the track at the first bend as he tries to persuade Fenland councillors to turn Krazy Karts at Creek Fen into a holiday hot spot.

Mr Falkingham's enthusiasm for Creek Fen giving a shot in the arm to Fenland tourism is not shared by March Town Council.

Councillors will recommend Fenland District Council rejects plans for a log cabin on the site which Mr Falkingham was convinced would bring visitors flooding to the area.

"The site is ideally located to encourage holiday lets in association with the adjoining track," says Mr Falkingham.

"It is anticipated this location will appeal more specifically to the fishing and boating fraternity in view of the close proximity of the river."

But Councillor Kit Owen, chairman of the town council's planning sub committee, complained Mr Falkingham's proposals were outside the development boundary for March.

"We are certainly very pro-tourism," said Cllr Owen. "And had the application been deemed appropriate, we would have actively supported it. Log cabins could, of course, assist tourism but not on this particular site."

The Creek Road go-kart track is also the subject of a second application by Mr Falkingham, but this is also recommended by the town council for refusal.

Mr Falkingham wants two mobile homes put on the site so the race track can be properly supervised and staffed.

He says the mobile homes are needed for a minimum of three years to proof the viability of his proposals. Later, he hopes to build "a dwelling of more permanent construction".

He said the kart track, built in the late 1990s, had been out of use over recent years due to "difficult personal circumstances of the previous owners and operators".

"The complex is again providing leisure facilities for the district," he said.