Discussions on Great Leighs racecourse future held

By Oliver Rogers
BBC Essex

Temple of Thebes won the maiden Fillies' Stakes Race on the first race day

Talks have been held with a number of potential buyers for the Great Leighs racecourse, BBC Essex has learned.

Royal Bank of Scotland, who own the site have confirmed they have spoken to millionaire businessman, George Walker.

The racecourse cost £30 million to build, but closed in January 2009 after nine months of operation.

A spokesperson for RBS told BBC Essex: "The bank's distressed assets arm, West Register are involved in discussions to sell the site."

When it opened in April 2008, the all-weather track was Britain's first new racecourse for 81-years.

BBC Essex understands that the RBS subsidiary, West Register Investments Ltd, have held talks with a 'number of potential buyers, including George Walker.'

The bank spokesperson added they had been working very closely with Chelmsford Borough Council as the local planning authority.

Previous attempts to sell the racecourse have faltered, with the administrators, Deloitte, selling the property to West Register Investments Ltd in July 2010.

Talks held

In a statement to BBC Essex, Chelmsford Borough Council confirmed they had held talks with George Walker and his associates.

Former-boxer and chairman of Brent Walker, Mr Walker developed the Brent Cross shopping centre in 1974 and went on to takeover the William Hill chain of betting shops at the end of the 1980s.

"Chelmsford Borough Council can confirm that planning officers have held initial discussions with George Walker and associates in recent weeks with a view towards looking at the future use of Great Leighs racecourse site for equestrian competition," a spokesperson for the borough council said.

"No planning application has been made at this point," he added.

Sir Alan Hazelhurst, the Conservative MP for the local area, welcomed the news there might be a return for racing at the ground.

"If it can be put to some use that is not too dissimilar to what it once was then that would be a good thing," he said.

Origins

The architect behind the Great Leighs racecourse was entrepreneur, John Holmes, who purchased the Essex County showground in 1997.

June 2003 - BHB award Great Leighs a racecourse operator's licence April 2006 - Land tribunal reports on A131 compensation from Essex County Council 6 October 2006 - Original opening date for the all-weather track 20 April 2008 - First race meeting takes place at the Great Leighs track January 2009 - Racecourse is placed into administration May 2009 - Rescue deal fails July 2010 - West Register Investment, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, take control of the site

It was an ambitious project to build a new racecourse and become the first to open since Taunton back in 1927.

The 165-acre site was given the go-ahead for development as a racecourse by the British Horseracing Board (BHB) in June 2003, after three years of planning.

Kieren Fallon backed the project as he told the BBC in 2003: "It's very similar to a lot of tracks in America but with a much, much friendlier surface."

Horse racing in Great Leighs was set to start on 6 October 2006 having been allocated 24 fixtures during the year and a further 58 for 2007.

All of these races had to be handed back to the British Horseracing Board.

Work progressed on the building of the course, with a 10,000 seater stand, used at the 2006 Ryder Cup, brought in.

Problems

As the October 2006 deadline approached it became clear the course was not ready for horse racing to begin at the venue.

Construction work and landscaping continued, as the management attempted to get the ground ready.

Businessman, John Holmes had the vision for the Great Leighs track

Essex County Showground Group Ltd brought a land tribunal case against Essex County Council in 2006.

The dispute centred around 18 acres of land compulsorily purchased for the construction of the A131 in 2000.

The building of the road, opened in September 2002, left eight acres cut-off from the main racecourse plot.

Mr Holmes wanted increased compensation for the land and sought the cost of building a connecting tunnel to the stabling blocks as well.

The additional construction work, it was argued by the company, had slowed work on the racecourse and prevented it from opening on time, and Mr Holmes was also seeking compensation for loss of profits.

Mr Holmes valued his claim at some £9.3m; Essex County Council's valuation was under £1m.

The hearing in London during January and February 2006 heard expert testimony and eventually concluded that a sum of £568,000 was due to Mr Holmes and his company.

It was determined in the judgement that no loss of profits or that the underpass should be paid for by Essex County Council.

Opening day

The racecourse at Great Leighs eventually cost over £30m to build.

Temple of Thebes won the inaugural race on Sunday, 20 April 2008, ridden by Stephen Donohoe in front of an invited audience.

Construction work continued shortly before the first race in April 2008

John Holmes told the BBC in 2008: "We are not going to be huge like Ascot, but we are looking for three feature meetings a year and we'd like to try a Breeders' Cup trial, hopefully.

"We want to look after our public and if they leave and say 'what a lovely little track', that'll do," he said.

Muddy conditions created problems for some race meetings at Great Leighs, but fixtures did go ahead regularly during 2008.

Footballers Owen Hargreaves, Roque Santa Cruz and Claudio Pizarro were among the visitors.

The trio saw their horse Audemar win at the track in October 2008.

The end of horse racing at Great Leighs came on 16 January 2009, when the course was placed into administration and the temporary racing licence was revoked by the British Horseracing Authority.

A rescue deal involving local businessman, Terry Chambers, who owns the Ashfields Carriage and Polo Club, in Great Canfield failed in September 2009.

Administrators could not sell the venue and it reverted back to the Royal Bank of Scotland, who announced that a subsidiary West Register Investment had bought the ground.

The site of Britain's first new racecourse for 81-years now sits abandoned, with the prospect of redevelopment for another use a possibility.

The talks between Chelmsford Borough Council and a gambling tycoon give the racecourse the possibility of a racing future.