“I'm glad that people are finally sorting these drivers out! I've parked at the midway site a few times and have seen the so called friendly attitude from some of these young folks. be it so not all of them but most of them. I've seen them playing football around cars, reaching stupid speeds and braking last minute to make the turn and then the same back again. litter left lying around when they've gone. Itf they think so highly of meeting to admire their cars all the time then why don't they run a car show and do it all the right way. if they want to socialise then why not go out and socialise or park outside their own homes with their music playing and engines reving? I've been to a lot of pub meets back when I was this age and that was the best way as no one was given a bad name as we all kept to some rules. Also we had somewhere warm to sit inside while chatting over engines and wheels. This lkept us happy as we had somewhere to go and we didn't get labelled and also kept the pub happy as we bought them business.

I'm sure there are many places out there that would welcome a bunch of enthusiasts with cars as long as they kept the noise down to not disturb business.

maybe they should look into this rarther than moaning about a car park.”

“Well this is hardly suprising to me... Ever since Festival Park came under the injunction, more and more people had been meeting up at this location, and inevitably the council have reacted to it. I have visited the Multistory myself a couple of times (once for a meet up, but invariably I park there to use the Vue cinema), and some of the behaviour of drivers gathering there was cause from concern. I personally disliked using the Multistory as a meet point for that very reason, despite it providing an undercover location in the poor weather we have had recently (and THAT is coming from a member of this so called "scene"). You cannot race in a multistory, but you cand drive like an imbecile.

I and my (car enthusiasts) club regularly hold weekly meets in the area, and we have never fallen foul of the police concerns (indeed I spoke to members of the Police force recently, and they confirmed they currently have no concerns with us and where we meet), as our meets are well controlled and policed by ourselves (incidently, Becca who commented before me is one of my members). So it CAN be done, the people from our "scene" can meet up civily and well behaved, it just needs the venue to do so...

Which leads me to answer Mrs Cheverlys comments - great idea, its just getting people to help finance it by digging into their pockets in the first place. A venue in Nottingham (MFN) set up to do similar with very good success, but most venues in this area are seemingly uninterested, due to the bad reputation ALL car enthusiasts have been tarnished with, thanks to the "Boy racer" mantle. There is an opening here for a venue with a big car park to potentially make a profit from the Stoke scene as MFN Nottingham have done, but after the Port Vale fiasco the other year, other possible locations will also be deterred by the possiblility of public backlash.

Marion: You stumbled apon the more genuine folks in the scene there seemingly, I can guarantee that anyone who turned up at our meets and approached us in a friendly manner, would be welcomed and helped.

Its a shame that this issue rumbles on and on. I am sure that we will be reading about another closed off location within a month or two....

Ed@AC”

“You lot get a meet going on, legel like, and lots of people would come and surport you, cars, bikes, the lot, show us what you have and you have the forthsight to do something yourselfs, come on boys and girls, you can do it.”

“Would someone care to explain how exactly you 'race' inside a Multi Storey carpark? The things you materialise to target the group of people it is currently fashionable to hate are beyond me... if any of you actually went there to see for yourselves you would find a group of respectable, friendly individuals who simply have a great love for their cars and wish to socialise with others who share their passion.

I pity you people who choose to believe what you hear in the press, and have nothing better to do than conspire against individuals who have done no wrong.
I by no means do not believe there are 'idiots' out there who spoil it for the rest of us - but when are there not in ANY single place? An obvious example is football - most people want to go along to watch the game, support their team and see their friends; but there are always hooligans who only go along to pick fights with the opposing team and cause trouble.

In every group with no exception there will always be the idiots who ruin things for everyone else. But for us who were doing no wrong, a big part of our lifestyle and culture has being attacked and taken away by those who know nothing about it, those power hungry do gooders who just want to feel important for the day by belittling someone with different interests and opinions because it is the flavour of the month.

It's a very sad state of affairs in my opinion but it seems everything is going this way these days.
There is no way you can please everyone, but by giving one group a bad name through the media and making them seem like the enemy, and everyone else the victims, you get everyone to hate the group in its entirity and can wipe one 'problem' (dangerous 'boy racers') out by eradicating it completely. And us (the 'enthusiasts') who were doing no wrong are unfortunately also affected under this umbrella.
In return, when us true enthusiasts try to fight back, nobody will listen because we are now the 'ones to blame.'

And this is exactly what has happened here. The lack of truth in these articles just to force the general public onto their biased side is something this newspaper should be ashamed of.”

“Its good news for poeople of festival park,But these guys and girls realy do nead somewhere to go and meet,you will always get car fans so why not work with them???,im 38 and used to fly around Hanley in a little red Hillman Imp! nothings changed with time i still love cars and now have a different imp a green one this time! but have fond memories of Hanley and Longton.
All they need is some space and a place to drive safely.”

“Mrs Cheveley, Trentham. Great idea and I support it 100% It was obvious that the lads would go somewhere else. I have to say that I one point, I needed some body work doing to my car. I drove to Festival Park and parked with some "flashy lads" who looked at me very bemused, but when I asked about body work, they couldn't help me enough and told me all the best people and what to look out for. So you see lads, you wouldn't just draw people to look at your cars but you could help folk like me to. Go with Mrs Cheveley's idea, it's sound.”

“I'v been saying this for years to them, rent a peace of ground, get a reguler meet going, you would be surprised how much interest would be shown by others to see your cars. You would also gain much respect, try it.”

“Lee, Andrew, Dom: There's a business opportunity here. Stop expecting somebody else to provide a venue for free and rent some place on an x-nights per-week basis that is suitable for your purposes. Given the number of people who attend these meetings, £1 per head should easily cover your costs, particular in an edge-city location.

Be responsible and self-sufficient, stop expecting others to fund your hobby, and you might gain some respect while you're at it.

If you were under eighteen years old, your expectation of others to provide a venue for your personal hobby might have some weight, but you're not so it doesn't.

The council didn't provide somewhere for us mods to meet up on our scooters in the 1970s, so we used to hire clubs with large car parks. Eventually we were hiring nationally recognized DJs, and holding events that were recognized in the mainstream press.

You *can* do something to help yourselves and assist your friends, but the question is: Will you do it?”