22 December, 2025

To our valued club members, officials, volunteers, friends, families & supporters.

This evening I write to you with the most difficult thing I have ever had to write.

Over the past 7 years, firstly as F100 and then by forming a brand new dedicated Kart Club in 2021 from scratch, myself, Lauren and many others behind the scenes have worked tirelessly as unpaid volunteers so everybody can race in properly organised and safe owner driver events at Buckmore Park.

With everything I’ve ever created and designed in regards the club, it has been with passion and I’ve continuously fought for the club on more occasions than you can ever imagine.

My passion and a focus has always been dedicated towards our sport to enable proper motor racing to continue at Buckmore Park.

That was and still is my unwavering desire but regrettably the journey has now come to an end for owner drivers and this club at Buckmore Park.

As many of our members know, we have been servicing a debt pile that was accrued over a number of years when entries were low and after I had stopped putting in my own money to subsidise the club.

I had been doing from the onset until around June 2024 to the value of about £45k. I have basically written off and will never get it back.

This year we have been in an arrangement to pay with the venue owners. That agreement also included our obligations of not incurring any more debt this year as well as serving a payment plan as required.

Some of the payments were very difficult to achieve and some were a little late but we have finished the year with every event paid for in full and we have also paid about a 3rd of the debt off in the last 12 months. Approximately £10k

Again, our members will be fully aware of this and many of you even generously helped with donations and loans to the club to help facilitate this, such was the passion for what we we’re all trying to do with Medway Valley.

On the 11th December I contacted the MD at Buckmore and told him that the club was not going to be able to pay the next payment plan of £3000 due on 19th December and if this were to have serious consequences, they should invoke those now to avoid further damage. I informed the MD that we may be in a better position by the 19th than we are now but it would be highly unlikely I would be able to achieve it all.

I was told that it would be discussed at a board level meeting with the directors on Friday 12th.

On Monday the 15th Dec, I called the MD to ask if there was anything I need to know following his board meeting on Friday. I was told they were just going to get to the 19th and see what happens.

I told the MD that the clubs position hadn’t changed so we would continue to trade and assumed there would be some compromise or reconfiguring of the plan on or around the 19th December.

On the 19th Dec, Buckmore Park were paid £500 from the clubs account. This was all we had spare from membership fees without dipping into the entry fee pot of the Winter Cup which was already in progress.

I explained this to the MD via a WhatsApp message.

This morning we received notification that the Buckmore Park were foreclosing on the club due to the missed payment on 19th and that all future race meetings we had booked with them are now cancelled.

I requested an emergency meeting with them to discuss the situation and this was offered to me this afternoon. Unfortunately, we were not able to negotiate or alter their plans to cancel on us during this meeting.

Due to the fact that we are no longer able trade by offering Owner Driver events at Buckmore Park going forward, this has effectively caused the club to fold with immediate effect and to cease operations.

I am deeply sorry I could not work this through with the venue.

On one hand I sympathise somewhat with their position, however on the other hand I can not personally understand the logic of destroying a club that has not fallen into further arrears plus we have paid approx a 3rd off the aged debt.

Tomorrow, I will speak to the Official Receivers office for advice to discuss our options. I know many of you will be concerned about entry fee subscriptions and membership fees that you have paid to the club but until I can pull together some advice it would be wrong of me to comment at this stage. They will be my priority to resolve.

Be safe and enjoy your racing where ever that is and whilst I will miss everything about this little club we have set up together, I take warmth that I may see you around and about from time to time.

Our sincerest apologies, best wishes and Merry Christmas to you all.

Jay & Lauren Fairbrass
Medway Valley Kart Club