Fears have been raised that historic Kempton Park racecourse could be flattened to make way for 2,000 new homes. The Surrey venue, which has hosted horseracing since 1878 and is the home of the King George VI Chase, faces a renewed threat after proposals first put forward in 2017 were shelved. Local MP Lincoln Jopp has voiced concerns that developers are preparing to 'reactivate' a planning application to destroy the legendary horseracing venue.
Historic Venue at Risk
Kempton Park has helped make horses such as Arkle, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star household names over the years. The iconic site currently hosts flat and National Hunt racing, and its closure would see fixtures hosted elsewhere around the country. The venue also hosts a weekly market, described by Mr Jopp as a community hub. The MP for Spelthorne said losing the Sunbury-on-Thames venue would be a blow not only to the area but to the whole country.
Developer Plans Reactivated
Kempton is subject to an agreement giving building firm Redrow the right to buy it should planning permission be granted. Mr Jopp said: 'There is a significant risk that developers Redrow are going to reactivate their application to put 2,000 homes on Kempton Park and flatten the racecourse. To be frank, I really like my local racecourse. It is a community hub and we have now launched a petition. We really need to save Kempton Park. I believe a planning loophole has been found. If they need housing, there are plenty of other places to choose from in the area. Don't destroy an iconic racecourse.'
Jockey Club Response
The Jockey Club, which also runs leading racecourses including Cheltenham, Epsom and Aintree, said: 'Any residential development would be dependent on planning approval and as that process has not started, the focus for Kempton Park continues to be on hosting racing.' Last year, Club chief executive Jim Mullen said the track's future was 'out of my hands'. Originally, the Jockey Club said the money from the sale would be reinvested into a string of other projects worth a total of £500 million. Among them would be a new state-of-the-art floodlit all-weather course, currently planned for a new site at The Links in Newmarket, which would open before Kempton closed its doors. Sandown would also receive major investment in its facilities, track and race programme as part of the plans.
Developer Statement
Redrow's parent company, Barratt Redrow, said: 'We have an agreement with the Jockey Club giving us the right to promote Kempton Park for development, and since this agreement was made we have been reviewing whether the site, or parts of it, could assist with the delivery of much needed new housing.' Nine years ago, the Jockey Club described the project as a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity to promote the site for new homes and local benefits, while preserving green space between the local borough and London.'
