The entirety of Thoroughbred Park should be developed for community benefit, the Greens say. Photo: Zen Photography.
The ACT Greens have released a concept master plan for a new suburb with up to 5000 homes and a school to be built on the 65-hectare Canberra racecourse site in the inner north.
The Greens are opposed to horse racing and ACT Government financial support for the Canberra Racing Club, which amounts to $40 million from 2022 to 2027.
In January, they called for the club to be turfed from Thoroughbred Park so the site could be developed for housing.
The club has its own advanced plans for developing sections of the site, proposing 3200 multi-unit homes, including social and affordable housing, a hotel and aged-care facilities. New stables and training facilities would be established on the track infield and facilities for racegoers refreshed.
The Greens, in an election-year pitch, have countered with a proposal on the entire site for 4200 to 5000 homes, including 540 public and community homes, a Common Ground social housing development and a retirement village.
The Canberra Racing Club said it would not be in the community’s interest to abandon the club’s advanced master plan, developed over five years at significant cost, to pursue an ideologically charged concept plan in its infancy that would come at significant cost to the ACT taxpayer.
“The Greens quote the urgency of the need for housing supply and we agree that there is no greater harm than that of time wasted, so why would we abandon a plan in the home straight for one that hasn’t left the barriers?” CRC Chief Executive Officer Darren Pearce said.
The Greens proposal would include a range of housing options, including six to eight-storey apartments alongside the light rail line, three to four-storey apartments near shared big gardens, and row houses, townhouses and terrace houses.
They say the new suburb would house about 10,000 people.
The Greens say they would negotiate a government purchase of the site or compulsorily acquire it on just terms, helping the club to move, possibly to NSW.
Infrastructure would include a new P-10 school and early learning centre, health facility, such as the Greens’ proposed free bulk-billed GP clinic, and a community hall, town square and art studio space.
There would also be shops, restaurants and commercial offices.
An environment community hub with subsidised rent would host services such as a repair cafe, recycling hub and community pantry.
The suburb would feature shared parks, community gardens, a microforest and a re-naturalised Sullivans Creek.
The Greens say the new suburb would be a fully walkable neighbourhood with pedestrian-oriented streets, as well as a walking and riding corridor.
Such a development would fully utilise the existing light rail stops opposite Exhibition Park and Phillip Avenue, they say.
The Greens’ masterplan for a new suburb on Thoroughbred Park. Image: Munns Sly Moore Architects.
Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury said the ACT’s precious land needed to be used to maximum community benefit.
“But right now, horses have their own light rail stop while there’s a desperate need for more homes in central areas,” he said.
“The concept plans we’re releasing today lay out our vision for the current site of the racecourse, and it’s an example of our vision for the whole city: investing directly in public housing, connecting communities with great public transport, improving the health of the local environment and stopping endless urban sprawl.”
Mr Rattenbury accused Labor and the Liberals of wanting to allow the racing industry to make millions from luxury properties.
Mr Pearce rejected the Greens plan and incorrect claims about luxury apartments, calling it a political ploy to differentiate themselves from the other political parties ahead of the election.
“The first rule of development is to build what the community needs,” he said.
He said that as a not-for-profit community club, any surplus profit made through the master plan could only be to the benefit of the sport, club and community.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has previously reassured Canberra Racing Club of its future at Thoroughbred Park, and the government has a Memorandum of Understanding with the club on its economic diversification, including housing and commercial opportunities.
The government has also established the Thoroughbred Park Housing and Revitalisation Steering Committee to advise it on options for the proposed development, including the best delivery model and potential for declaring it an urban renewal site.
Mr Pearce was at a committee meeting with government officials this morning and said plans were progressing.
“We have lodged our substantive submissions, including all the technical reports with EPSD under the new territory planning framework,” he said.
“So we’re in the home straight of that process and separately through the government on the revitalisation steering committee.
“We’re down to brass tacks working out how it all comes together and the costs and benefits for the community to allow government to make decisions.”
Mr Pearce said the club was hopeful of a position from the government ahead of the election in October.
He said that under the funding agreement the club was obliged to diversify its long-term revenue and do an independent economic study of the economic value-add of the thoroughbred industry in the ACT.
“That shows that we generate $80 million a year in economic value-add as a business and as a racing industry in the ACT,” Mr Pearce said.
Mr Pearce questioned the legality of compulsory acquisition and the uncertainty that would cause for business in general in the ACT.
He said Thoroughbred Park employed 500 people and was a 365-days-a-year events business of which racing was only a part, hosting events such as the Canberra Festival of Speed, Special Kids Christmas Party and ACT Sustainability Expo.
Clubs ACT Chief Executive Craig Shannon said the Greens’ proposal was a fanciful, un-costed and ideological bait and switch at taxpayers’ expense.
“The not-for-profit Canberra Racing Club proposal already proposes much the same thing without being a burden to taxpayers, and any profits will go to sports and community groups,” he said.
Mr Shannon said the redevelopment aimed to integrate with the nearby light rail route through Mitchell, potentially creating more than 2000 jobs and delivering a substantial economic boost to the ACT.
Canberra Liberals housing spokesperson Mark Parton said the Greens’ plan to compulsorily acquire the site to deliver similar outcomes but with taxpayers’ money was absurd.
Canberra Business Chamber CEO Greg Harford said the plan was bad policy and fraught with risk.
“Businesses need certainty in their operating environment and need to know that their private property rights are secure and will be respected,” he said.
The proposal followed last year’s compulsory acquisition of Calvary Hospital and would put the ACT in dangerous legal territory, Mr Harford said.
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