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Portsmouth greyhound track on-verge of being demolished

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Greyhound racing at Portsmouth is looking highly likely to come to an end this weekend after 79 years of operation. The closure of greyhound stadiums has grown to become a hot topic across the nation in recent times, as the sport is suffering a major decline, but should this give big businesses the opportunity to swallow up the local heritage?

Eric Graham is the current promoter of the track and has been part of it for 18 years; he took on a rolling two year lease with current owners, The South East England Development Agency [SEEDA] and Tipner Regeneration Land who purchased the site from the GRA in 2008.

The lease is set to expire on April 1st and Graham has admitted that his constant efforts to renew the lease have so far come to nothing. Graham says "If there is no agreement in place by today, then Saturday's meeting will be the last."

As a result of a likely closure, 47 jobs will be lost, dozens of charities who rely on the income of fundraising events held at the stadium will also lose out, and a total of 200 dogs will be left without homes.

In defense, the director of Tipner Regeneration development Steve Law says that the site was bought for redevelopment and it was always the intention to close it down. Law claims that owners, trainers and staff were given adequate time to relocate.

In a statement, SEEDA said: "It is a much needed regeneration scheme for Portsmouth that will create an important gateway to the city and deliver housing, jobs and a park and ride facility.”

A total of 1,600 houses are planned to be built, which should also create 1,500 new jobs, so it’s not all bad news for everyone.

If the local community of Portsmouth really want to hold on to their heritage, they should consider making a call to the Save Our Stow campaign leader Ricky Holloway. Holloway is on the verge of reviving the legendry Walthamstow dogs, and has so far received support from the council, community, celebs and even the mayor to stop the stadium from being demolished.

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