1 week Ago By [email protected] (Eloise Gilmore)
A racecourse has applied for permission to increase the number of race meetings it can hold each year, and the days it can have floodlights on. Southwell Racecourse, on Racecourse Road between Southwell and Rolleston, currently has permission to hold up to 80 race meetings in each calendar year, and to use its floodlights on up to 40 days each year. These conditions have been in place since 1991, and have not been sought to be changed in the past 34 years.
Now, it has applied to increase the number of race meeting allowed each year to 100, and the number of days floodlights can be used to 70. Planning documents state “the racecourse would like some flexibility in the number of races it can compete for each year, and their potential timing”. It would allow the course to pick up cancellations from other courses — such as in the case of unsuitable conditions at other tracks — without reaching its limit, as well as having less pressure to finish races prior to sunset when there is cases of ‘split races’ due to larger number of runners than considered appropriate for one race.
Currently, the additional race created in these cases has to be held prior to the first programmed race to avoid needing the lights, which can cause knock-on effects for horses and their owners who have to travel long distances to the course. This occurred on 28 occasions last year, documents explained, which has been rounded up to create the request for an additional 30 days of floodlight use. Documents also highlighted the “commercial and tourist” attraction the racecourse provides in the area.
The applications were put before Southwell Town Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, April 2, and councillors lodged ‘no comment’ to both. Jamie Bostock said: “It’s been a number of years, I suppose the racing landscape has changed since then..
. it does put Southwell on the map, whenever there’s a meeting you hear about it all over.” Roger Blaney noted that the course’s application to allow 100 meetings does not mean it will get that many, as they are allocated by the British Horseracing Authority.
The course has on some occasions not held all 80 each year — especially during times it has been affected by flooding. Mr Blaney added: “There are occasions where other courses are out of action, and the events could be switched to Southwell — but not if it takes it over the maximum. “I don’t have a problem with this.
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