NEWBURY RACECOURSE and its joint partner David Wilson Homes have been granted outline planning permission by West Berkshire Council to redevelop the racecourse to assure its long-term future.
The visuals of the proposed development show the dramatic improvements planned for the historic racecourse. The inspirational designs include an impressive entrance that will ensure a ‘wow factor’ from the moment of arrival. A striking new parade will have superb hospitality facilities exactly where they are needed. Iconic ‘grandstand-style’ apartments will provide a coherent backdrop for the racecourse. Family homes will sit amidst tree-lined boulevards with open green spaces and play areas.
The multi-million pound self-financing proposal comes more than a century after the first race meeting took place in 1905. Despite being bombed, used as a prisoner of war camp and being remodelled to serve as an American supply depot, the Grade 1 course has become one of the most prestigious in the world.
The racecourse generates directly and indirectly an expenditure of around £52 million annually and employs 80 full-time staff, with on average 860 additional people employed on a part-time or casual basis for race days. The total spend from the racing industry in Newbury and West Berkshire is around £196 million per annum; a significant source of employment and wealth generation for the district.
While the racecourse is one of Newbury’s most valuable assets, its viability is marginal as a result of the high fixed costs. Sarah Hordern, managing director of property development and finance at Newbury Racecourse, says: “We need to compete with other premier courses such as Ascot, Cheltenham, Chester, Epsom, Newmarket and York, which have all invested significantly in their own racecourses, as well as emulating their models which show the financial benefits of diversification.
“Our plans will provide us with the means to improve and increase our racing, hospitality, conference and events facilities so we can offer a superb business and leisure destination, with racing at its core, 365 days a year. Our redevelopment will also boost the local economy, a key feature of the Council’s Newbury Vision 2025.”
The multi-million pound redevelopment plans include:
• A 120-bed hotel
• Better access to the racecourse via a new bridge that already has planning approval
• The creation of a more impressive entrance providing a real ‘sense of arrival’
• Improvements and additions to the current racing and golfing facilities at the racecourse
• Up to 1500 new homes, from apartments for first time buyers to five-bedroom homes, at ‘Newbury Park’ – of which up to 450 will be affordable, shared equity housing or available to rent – on land no longer required for racing activities
• A new building for the children’s nursery at the racecourse
In addition to the leisure and fitness facilities offered at the existing Nuffield Health, Fitness & Wellbeing Centre, there will also be large areas of green open space around the racecourse for public use.
Crucial to the success of the development will be the provision of the infrastructure to support this redevelopment including improvements to the roads, railway station, bus routes and services, along with a network of cycleways, to provide easier access to the racecourse and the town centre.
Ian Vickerage, president of the West Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, says: “The proposed redevelopment for the racecourse is great news as it will have a very positive effect on Newbury, attracting more visitors to the town; I would expect it to be welcomed by local businesses.
“The new homes will provide much needed accommodation for people working in West Berkshire and will be a major contribution to the 10,500 new homes that West Berkshire is required to build by 2026. The new facilities and improved transport links will be a huge boost to the area and encourage people to live, work, shop and socialise in Newbury.”
The Newbury Racecourse redevelopment team has held public consultations and meetings with local residents, Greenham Parish Council, Newbury Town Council and the officers of West Berkshire Council responsible for affordable housing provision, open space and play areas, ecology, conservation and design, and environmental health.
The team has also been in discussions with various organisations to ensure the facilities and services needed by residents of Newbury Park will be successfully met. These include the Primary Care Trust, Local Education Authority, Local Highway Authority, Sovereign Housing Group, Environment Agency, Natural England, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), the Government Office of the South East (GOSE) and the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA).
Paul Crispin, managing director of David Wilson Homes, says: “We very much look forward to working with the racecourse, West Berkshire Council, stakeholders and the local community to transform our plans into reality. The racecourse and the associated infrastructure will be a ten-year project and I fully expect the current market conditions to have recovered during this time.”