PLANNING APPLICATION LODGED FOR £10M JULY COURSE REDEVELOPMENT
The planning application seeking permission for the key stage of Newmarket's proposed £10m redevelopment of the July Course was officially lodged with the East Cambridgeshire District Council planning authority on July 18. It is expected to take approximately 12 weeks until a decision is announced by the District Council. During this period, Newmarket Racecourses will be asking focus groups, made up of existing racegoers and local residents, for their views on the plans to make sure that they deliver what the racecourse's stakeholders want.
Over £1 million has already been spent on the initial, below-the-ground stage of the redevelopment, with the essential upgrading of key services - water, electricity and sewerage. The main stage, which has been designed by Gloucester-based Limbrick Limited, will be phased over 18 months, being completed in time for the start of the 2007 summer season at Newmarket, and will focus on the area behind the existing stands. The stands themselves, which are structurally very sound despite their age, will be largely untouched other than the re-roofing of the three main stands.
While the main aim of the redevelopment will be to provide vastly superior facilities to those currently available, the central theme will be to retain and even enhance the magical, rustic charm of the July Course which is at the heart of its popularity.
The perimeter boundary at the back of the July Course site will be extended backwards into the main public car park (part of the National Stud) to take in another third of a hectare of land, giving more space and scope for new facilities to be built in the two main enclosures. The existing, somewhat disparate array of buildings behind the stands, which have increased in number and design over the years, will be demolished and the whole of the enlarged area will be redesigned with new bars, catering outlets and toilets to meet the expectations of the modern racegoer.
The focal points of the redevelopment will be two brand new entrance buildings on the new perimeter boundary and two new two-storey pavilions inside linked by an aerial walkway, combining toilets and bars below and al-fresco dining above. The July Course Restaurant, at the back of the first side-on grandstand, will be extended at the rear to double the number of covers it can cater for, with a brand new bar and terrace built above it.
If planning permission is granted, the first phase of work will begin in early 2006, though racegoers are likely to see only modest progress by the time the next July Course season starts in June 2006. The main part of the work will take place from September 2006 to May 2007, with all the new facilities ready for the start of the 2007 summer season.
Lisa Hancock, Managing Director of Newmarket Racecourses, commented: "If getting the Millennium Grandstand put right on the Rowley Mile had to be the new management team's first priority, a very close second was the upgrading of the July Course facilities. I am really excited by these plans, which are the fruit of more than three years of planning and consultation. I hope that the forthcoming focus groups will respond very positively to the plans and when our racegoers see the end product, I think they will be thrilled with what they will find.
"Everyone can see that in the past there has been under-investment in the July Course facilities, some of which date back 50 or more years, but such is the unique charm of the July Course environment that past managements have "got away with it". However, for a 21st century racecourse, the current facilities are simply not good enough and as a result I think this redevelopment will make a massive impact.
"The trees, the lawns, the thatched roofs and the stands themselves, all of which are so intrinsic to the July Course's appeal, will all remain, but the vastly improved design and layout of the new facilities, combined with the extra space thanks to the new land that we are gaining at the back, will enhance the racegoing experience no end."
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