Local residents are devastated by rumours one of London’s most famous historic racecourses could be paved over and replaced with a new housing estate.
The Jockey Club still has an agreement in principle with Redrow, the housing developer. If approved, this would allow the developer to build on Kempton Park until 2028.
Former CEO Paul Fisher stated the Jockey Club was stuck with the same issues he faced while trying to secure investment for Kempton Park’s track.
“As the Jockey Club is not a PLC [public limited company] it only really has two options for raising capital: debt, which is what we did for Aintree, Cheltenham and Epsom, or selling assets.
“With Kempton, there are three racecourses in London and you have a 300-acre site there that’s ripe for development. The Jockey Club has to look at all these options,” Fisher said.
Credit: AP
Rumours have continued to circulate at Cheltenham, the biggest week in the jumps calendar for the Jockey Club, that Kempton Park’s famous race ‘the King George’ could be moved to Aintree.
The idea of moving this historic race will come as a big worry for racing punters and the local economy during the Christmas holidays.
Local residents in Kempton Park aren’t happy.
Local resident Jenny is not happy with the proposed racecourse closure. “I’ve just heard the news and I think it’s terrible. I’ve been living here for years and my uncle’s got horses and he races here.
“It definitely should stay open, it’s bringing a lot of joy to lots of people for years. I’m literally devastated…we should do a petition around everywhere just to get it to stay open!”
Edward Cruttenden from Sunbury Antiques regularly runs antique fairs at Kempton Park Racecourse. He is trying to stay more optimistic:
“We’ve been trading here for 45 years, probably one of the longest established antiques fairs here at Kempton Park. The rumours going around about Kempton may be slightly blown out of proportion”.
“Kempton Park is one of the most profitable racecourses in the Jockey Club group. The Jockey Club was established to keep a lot of racecourses going. So I think there will be a lot of pushback from the owners and trainers.”
Jockey Club has been established since 1750
A spokesperson for The Jockey Club said:
“Kempton Park remains the subject of an option agreement signed in 2018. This gave a housebuilder, Redrow, the right to purchase the racecourse for a significant sum, to be reinvested back into racing, if they were to achieve planning consent to build on it.
“That has not changed and the right expires in 2028, with a limited ability to extend if a planning application is under consideration. Any future change is determined by the gaining of planning permission.”
Redrow developers were approached for comment but did not respond in time for publication.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Kempton Park racecourse. Local racing punters will be hoping that the King George and the racecourse is not under threat.
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HeadlineKemptON or OFF? The fate of the racecourse at Kempton Park in doubt
Short HeadlineJockey Club still plans to build new racecourse if Kempton Park closes
StandfirstLocal residents are devastated by rumours one of London's most famous historic racecourses could be paved over and replaced with a new housing estate.
Local residents are devastated by rumours one of London’s most famous historic racecourses could be paved over and replaced with a new housing estate.
The Jockey Club still has an agreement in principle with Redrow, the housing developer. If approved, this would allow the developer to build on Kempton Park until 2028.
Former CEO Paul Fisher stated the Jockey Club was stuck with the same issues he faced while trying to secure investment for Kempton Park’s track.
“As the Jockey Club is not a PLC [public limited company] it only really has two options for raising capital: debt, which is what we did for Aintree, Cheltenham and Epsom, or selling assets.
“With Kempton, there are three racecourses in London and you have a 300-acre site there that’s ripe for development. The Jockey Club has to look at all these options,” Fisher said.
Credit: AP
Rumours have continued to circulate at Cheltenham, the biggest week in the jumps calendar for the Jockey Club, that Kempton Park’s famous race ‘the King George’ could be moved to Aintree.
The idea of moving this historic race will come as a big worry for racing punters and the local economy during the Christmas holidays.
Local residents in Kempton Park aren’t happy.
Local resident Jenny is not happy with the proposed racecourse closure. “I’ve just heard the news and I think it’s terrible. I’ve been living here for years and my uncle’s got horses and he races here.
“It definitely should stay open, it’s bringing a lot of joy to lots of people for years. I’m literally devastated…we should do a petition around everywhere just to get it to stay open!”
Edward Cruttenden from Sunbury Antiques regularly runs antique fairs at Kempton Park Racecourse. He is trying to stay more optimistic:
“We’ve been trading here for 45 years, probably one of the longest established antiques fairs here at Kempton Park. The rumours going around about Kempton may be slightly blown out of proportion”.
“Kempton Park is one of the most profitable racecourses in the Jockey Club group. The Jockey Club was established to keep a lot of racecourses going. So I think there will be a lot of pushback from the owners and trainers.”
Jockey Club has been established since 1750
A spokesperson for The Jockey Club said:
“Kempton Park remains the subject of an option agreement signed in 2018. This gave a housebuilder, Redrow, the right to purchase the racecourse for a significant sum, to be reinvested back into racing, if they were to achieve planning consent to build on it.
“That has not changed and the right expires in 2028, with a limited ability to extend if a planning application is under consideration. Any future change is determined by the gaining of planning permission.”
Redrow developers were approached for comment but did not respond in time for publication.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Kempton Park racecourse. Local racing punters will be hoping that the King George and the racecourse is not under threat.
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