THE future of an area of Thurrock earmarked for 2,500 new homes remains a mystery following the sale of the land – though the transaction has brought renewed hope for campaigners hoping to restore speedway to the borough.

The 129 acres, located on Arterial Road in Purfleet, was acquired by London Strategic Land Partners Limited (LSL) site in 2017 from two private landlords.

It was formerly used as the Arena Essex raceway track which played host to speedway club Lakeside Hammers and before that was used for landfill.

LSL submitted a planning application for 2,500 homes in 2018 which included a lido, community center, primary school, health centre, and walking and bike trails but after making little progress the application, in which the residential area was named Northlake, was withdrawn.

Now LSL has confirmed it has sold the land for £47 million to Global Infrastructure UK Limited, which is owned by Google. Global Infrastructure UK is company whose principal activity is to engage in the provision of web hosting services.  Its last annual report says the role of the company is to support the expansion of operations.

It seems probable that Google could plan to develop the site as a data centre. Most data center developments on the outskirts of London are focused to the west around Slough and Hayes.

However, a 600MW campus in nearby Havering has been proposed by developers, though it faces strong local opposition.

Thurrock Hammers is a group dedicated to bringing a raceway track back to the area, ideally on the existing site that has just been sold.

Its director, Mark Sexton, said: "The change of ownership of Arena Essex signifies a new start and we have already contacted a representative of the new owner of the site with the aim of preserving speedway by using current planning regulations and policies."