A POPULAR racetrack near Worcester has had to postpone its start to the season - with its entire future still in limbo.

Grimley Oval Raceway remains locked up and abandoned, weeks after its schedule was due to start, without a single banger out the blocks.

Malvern Hills District Council forced the track to close due to noise concerns last year after getting a controversial High Court injunction, defying a 1,500-name petition.

The Worcester News can reveal how a new court hearing will now take place in early May, with an interim ban on racing remaining in place until then.

Normally the season would have started in March, with bosses at the site saying they bitterly regret having to scrap several fixtures due to the dispute.

Malvern Gazette:

The raceway has been going for more than 50 years and attracts people from all over Britain to watch its renowned stock and banger car racing.

Chris Parry, a track racer and marshall, says the racing community is "already being punished" despite not being used for 351 days of the year.

He has told the Worcester News the venue has acted on "every practicable measure" to try and satisfy concerns, including no engines running before 11am or after 6pm, the use of exhaust silencers and no PA system playing music between races.

Organisers also say they have wavered the right to stage 14 "non-racing events" a year, and that all vehicles undergo static noise testing before races.

Mr Parry said: "To suggest 14 afternoons a year of minimised noise in sociable hours is injuring health or detrimentally impacting the enjoyment of a home is frankly absurd.

Malvern Gazette:

"I live within earshot of Sixways, which runs noisy events far more frequently and causes traffic nuisance due to parking in residential areas.

"The uncomfortable truth is that Grimley Oval Raceway is an easier target with no corporate backing - this discrimination is unacceptable."

He has sent an angry letter to the district council, seen by this newspaper, urging a decision before it goes back to court.

Yesterday Phil Merrick, head of economy and communities at the council, insisted they wanted a solution.

"The court has scheduled a hearing for early May and the interim injunction remains in place until the case has been heard," he said.

"This will allow both sides to have their say and an independent judgement to be made.

"We remain supportive of the raceway, but we also have a legal responsibility to protect residents from excessive noise.

Malvern Gazette:

"The owners agreed, following court action in December 2015, to undertake work to mitigate noise levels by March 2016 - they failed to do so which resulted in the interim injunction.

"We've always said if noise reduction measures are implemented in line with the order, there is no reason why racing cannot continue."