Come the revolution brothers!

Tv rights for Newmarket will be expensive methinks, something gotta give.

Kempton is on green belt land,i live a mile away,just by the river,hardly any aircraft noise here.

http://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/news/kempton-park-proposal-faq?utm_source=Direct

Kempton Park Proposal FAQ

10th January 2017

On 10th January 2017, The Jockey Club unveiled its ambition to invest a record sum into British Racing over the next decade – a nationwide programme of investment totalling more than £500 million, designed to benefit our sport and all who participate in and enjoy it.

This would represent the largest contribution any organisation has ever made to British Racing over a ten-year period. It will allow us to invest in our facilities, tracks and training grounds all around the country, contribute record amounts to prize money funding and do more to support good causes in our sport.

A large part of this sum will come from running our diverse range of operations effectively, while the remainder is conditional on us raising in excess of £100 million from the future redevelopment of our estate at Kempton Park.

Before the end of 2016, the local authority to Kempton Park – Spelthorne Borough Council –issued a ‘Call for Sites’ within the borough to put themselves forward to help to address unmet local housing needs. The local authority also launched a Green Belt Review.

After careful review, The Jockey Club has submitted its estate at Kempton Park for consideration for future redevelopment due to the once-in-a-generation opportunity this presents to generate significant capital to reinvest back into supporting British Racing nationwide, as per its Royal Charter commitments. Even if successful, this is a process expected to take several years and in the meantime normal operations continue.

If future development is approved it is likely to be at least 2021 – at the earliest – before there are any changes to racing operations. If it is not approved then Kempton Park will continue as a racecourse venue.

A new floodlit all-weather racecourse
While embarking on this planning process at Kempton Park, we are now preparing for a planning application to create a new floodlit all-weather racecourse, with our land on The Links in Newmarket as the front-running option. This offers the ultimate convenience for the world’s highest density of Thoroughbred racehorses, stabled and trained in the town, and the staff who care for them. Our ambition would be for this course to become Europe’s best all-weather circuit and it would be purpose-built for horsemen using just some of the proceeds from development at Kempton Park.

We would build this new course subject to achieving planning consent in Newmarket and a positive outcome from the planning process at Kempton Park. Then Kempton Park’s operations would continue until the new course is fully operational to ensure a continuity of all-weather racing at Jockey Club Racecourses, which plays an important role in our sport and is vital for betting media revenues. This means there will be no point at which either The Jockey Club or British Racing as a whole has fewer racecourses.

Investment in Jumps Racing
If changes take place at Kempton Park we will also act to secure and invest in the Jumps programme nationally.

We will work with the British Horseracing Authority in seeking to run selected races including the King George VI Chase at Sandown Park, where it has been won in the past by One Man and Kicking King who both also won the race at Kempton Park. In the process we plan to invest significantly in Sandown Park's facilities and track, seeking to unlock its great potential as London's Class 1 dual-code racecourse.

Furthermore we will look to boost Jump racing from its grassroots to the top-end in consultation with horsemen by other fixtures from Kempton Park's programme being transferred to our Jumps courses around the country and through investments at each track over the next decade – in all four of our Regions, in the North, South West and East, as well as in London.

The Jockey Club's support for Jump racing is national and recent highlights include successful investment in Lambourn as a Training Centre, securing Warwick's future as a leading small Jumps course, our £45 million transformation of facilities at Cheltenham and protecting the future of the Grand National through careful stewardship at Aintree.

Our nationwide programme of investments will also see us do even more to support important good causes in our sport, including around horse welfare, racing's workforce and education.

The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards have given a lot of thought to these decisions and have not taken them lightly. However, they are confident the package we announce today would see British Racing’s interests best served in the long-term, in line with our Royal Charter commitments.

Are you about to close Kempton Park Racecourse?
No. It remains business as usual at Kempton Park – both as a racing and events venue. In 2017, the racecourse is scheduled to stage 71 racing fixtures, including quality Jumps racing and all-year-round Flat racing on our all-weather surface, and popular events such as the weekly general markets and twice-monthly antiques market continue as normal.

What has been announced is that our estate at Kempton Park has been put forward for consideration in Spelthorne Borough Council's Local Plan as a site that could be redeveloped in the future to help towards unmet local housing needs. Dependent on the outcome of this application and a subsequent planning process the site may be redeveloped in the future. However if this process is successful, we anticipate it would be at least 2021 – at the earliest – before there are any changes to racing operations. We look forward to welcoming all customers to Kempton Park as normal.

What will happen at Kempton Park after 2021?
That depends on the outcome of a planning process. At the moment we have simply submitted Kempton Park for consideration in Spelthorne Borough Council's Local Plan as a site that could be redeveloped to help towards unmet local housing needs and to generate capital to invest in British Racing in Surrey and nationwide. That is the first step of a process that would take several years before there are any changes to operations at Kempton Park, where it remains business as usual in the meantime.

Are you considering anything similar at your other racecourses?
No – actually they will all benefit from increased investment. The circumstances at Kempton Park are entirely unique and there are no similar plans elsewhere in our group. After careful consideration we believe submitting Kempton Park for potential development in the future is the right move to unlock significant capital to invest in British Racing and because we can protect the Jumps programme, create what we want to become Europe’s leading all-weather course and still have monies left over for projects to enhance our sport. This is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

What will happen to the team at Kempton Park?
Firstly, we are working on the basis that even if planning permission is received, we expect racing to continue until at least 2021. Then we will be offering our people opportunities elsewhere in our group. For starters, there are the major investments I have outlined in nearby Sandown Park less than six miles away and already the ‘hub’ course in our London Region, opportunities created by the development of another floodlit all-weather racecourse and as we know new opportunities are available around our group on an ongoing basis.

If planning permission at Kempton Park is not received, will you still be investing more than £500 million in British Racing in the next decade?
No. However, as we have always done, we can guarantee that every penny we make will continue to go back into British Racing through prize money, facilities to benefit horsemen and racegoers, and initiatives to help to grow our sport, so of course our contribution would still be significant.

What will happen to the King George VI Chase if development goes ahead?
We are looking to deliver major investment to facilities and the track at Sandown Park, which is less than six miles from Kempton Park and which currently stages some of the finest Jumps races in the country, including the Grade 1 Tingle Creek in December and the Grade 1 Celebration Chase at the Jumps season finale in April. We propose to work with the British Horseracing Authority to transfer a select number of fixtures, including the 32Red King George VI Chase, to Sandown Park. It has been staged there in the past, won then by One Man and Kicking King who both also won the King George at Kempton, so there is a precedent.

What will happen to Kempton Park's other fixtures if development goes ahead?
In consultation with the British Horseracing Authority and the wider sport, and with a careful review of Turf capacity, we would look to transfer Kempton Park’s other Jumps fixtures to other Jumps courses small and large operated nationally by The Jockey Club, with further major investment in the process. This would help to boost Jump racing around the country.

In addition, The Jockey Club is preparing for a planning application to create a new floodlit all-weather course, purpose-built for horsemen. Newmarket is the front-running option for this because of the ultimate convenience it would offer for the many thousands of horses trained at the world’s premier racehorse training centre and the further boost it would give to the Home of Racing. This would be a new course replacing Kempton Park’s all-weather operations and The Jockey Club would require it to be operational before racing stopped at Kempton Park. The Jockey Club has no intention of converting any of its existing Turf surfaces to all-weather.

Are you raising half a billion pounds from redevelopment at Kempton Park?
No – that is the sum The Jockey Club wishes to invest in British Racing over the next decade. The majority of this will come from our diverse commercial operations and a portion from redevelopment at Kempton Park if this goes ahead in the future. The Jockey Club is governed by Royal Charter to act for the long-term good of British Racing and this includes reinvesting every penny of profit made back into the sport.

Is Kempton Park failing commercially?
Quite the opposite – Kempton Park is a highly profitable racecourse.

Is this a way of raising money for investments The Jockey Club has already made?
No - this is about what we can do for British Racing in the future through a nationwide programme of investments to benefit horsemen, racegoers and communities around the country.

When was this decision made?
In 2014 we put forward the backlands at Kempton Park for potential development. However, in November 2016 Spelthorne Borough Council announced a new Call for Sites and once-in-a-generation Green Belt Review, which has created a far greater opportunity. The decision to submit Kempton Park for development consideration was made unanimously by The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards to meet the local council’s 10th January 2017 deadline, after much consideration of our options.

How many houses could be built at Kempton Park?
Our partner, Redrow, has advised that the full site is capable of hosting 3,000 homes. This and other aspects will be consulted on and included in any future planning application for consideration.

Have you consulted your Members about potentially closing Kempton Park?
Yes. The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards has taken this decision unanimously and consulted with several Members of The Jockey Club in the process to ensure no stone is left unturned on this being in the best long-term interests of British Racing.

We recognise that this will not be a popular decision with everyone, but we hope that people will judge us by our proven track record of investing to improve our sport and recognise this as a move made solely for the long-term benefit of horsemen and racegoers alike.

Why have you decided to invest in Newmarket and Sandown Park in particular?
We intend to embark upon an investment programme in excess of £500m over the next decade into prize money and facilities at all of our racecourses and training grounds to benefit horsemen and racegoers. Capital receipts from Kempton Park will form an important part of The Jockey Club’s ability to realise our ambitions for British Racing. This announcement provides some detail on our plans in Newmarket and Sandown because we want to be clear what will replace Kempton Park’s operations.

Newmarket is the home of Racing and a state-of-the-art new floodlit all-weather course there, designed for horsemen, would be on the doorstep of thousands of horses trained at the world’s premier training centre. Sandown Park is less than six miles from Kempton Park and is accessible to millions of people living in London and the surrounding areas. It has huge potential that has not yet been fulfilled, and this investment in Sandown’s facilities and track can significantly contribute to it unlocking it.

"Is Kempton Park failing commercially?
Quite the opposite – Kempton Park is a highly profitable racecourse".

Blackbarn - Agreed. I already said this earlier in the thread. Although the land is, in reality, almost all undeveloped it'll be classified as brownfield. Whether it's in the greenbelt is irrelevant.

They're putting some solar panels in fields where I live. The grass will be pretty much untouched. In 15/20 yrs when they remove them they're already said it'll be classified as brownfield and thus they'll be able to get planning permission much more easily to build on it.

The Jockey club have a responsibility to protect racing heritage and particularly historical courses like Kempton, Cheltenham, Newmarket. - They should not be forming partnerships with housebuilders to bulldoze Kempton for a big payday, to take advantage of inflated London property prices.

i thought chelmsford was built to keep newmarket happy,what now for the lambourn horses will newbury build an aw track and forget about turf racing after all there share holders will have got a taste from house building sell some more land build a little aw track and bobs your uncle.everybody happy except the racing fan.

'Immigration closes racecourse' - you really couldn't make up some peoples stupidity! Ignoring the fact that no one is forcing JCR to build houses, other than commercial 'pressure' of course, the housing crisis in the S.E is sod all to do with council houses being sold off to the baby boomers and them not being rebuilt. It's also sod all to do with a not enough social/affordable/vaguely affordable housing being built and developers getting out of their obligations, it's also nothing to do with a benefit system that has rewarded landlords for increasing rent and letting (very) substandard properties to those desperate enough to have to live somewhere. Finally it has nothing to do with not enough houses being built/old properties developed in practically every parish in the country over the last 30 years or so and developers/owners letting sites rot. Some demographics are doing very well out of this housing 'crisis' thank you very much!
No, it, like everything else in this country that doesn't work (but seems to be generally ok in other countries with high immigration/similar issues) is nothing to do with the British people themselves and those that have run things so badly for the last 40 years or so - it is all due to immigration over the last 15 years or so! Just as well all the immigrants are going soon and we will live in a nirvana where everything is going to run smoothly and everybody has a house to go home to in just a few short years..........

Great post spyker. Summed it up perfectly.

Good point foxy.The key issue being that those making purchases once the JCR plans became for want of a better word albeit secretly 'advanced' should at the very least be returned the sums that JCR trousered.

foxy 10 Jan 17 18:46 Joined: 26 Dec 00 | Topic/replies: 5,219 | Blogger: foxy's blog
democrat 1404 post

jcr accepted commission as late as december on sales.

Plus of course JCR will get their whack from creating a Newmarket (AW) bookmakers list for the new racecourse. In a few years time, we will all be getting letters 'inviting us to bid'

Newmarket may well be convenient for a lot of trainers but frankly it is in the middle of nowhere. I gather attendances at a/w meeting at courses much closer to centres of population are nothing to speak of. Who do they think is going to go to the blasted heath on a night like this and pay £20 to watch a few jockeys' races. Surely bookies will not pay for pitches ?

they will salmon we stand for anything absoulute push overs the more they ask us for the more we pay them.

I would imagine pitches would be worthless although I guess they will have to promote a few "high" days.

speaking to one of the chelmsford books the other day ribero they were saying its mostly very poor.

Chelmsford will not be missed, more housing?

Have to move with the times I'm afraid.......does not bother me at all....hate the place!
King George at Sandown......great stuff imvho!

All in all there must be some very disappointed people, Arena, Bald fred, the planning of the future must be a major concern, with no one trusting racings main body?