Plans for a hotel at Royal Randwick have sparked concerns from local councillors about the proliferation of gambling.
The Australian Turf Club wants to build a seven-storey hotel with 190 rooms, gaming area, registered club, restaurant and bar at the racecourse after dumping earlier plans for serviced apartments.
An artist’s impression of the seven-storey hotel planned for Royal Randwick Racecourse.Credit: Australian Turf Club
But Randwick Greens councillors are likely to oppose the ATC’s hotel plan when the council meets on Tuesday to vote on a draft submission about the proposal.
Planning documents describe the development as a “4.5-star lifestyle hotel”, with function rooms, a bar and gaming area operating until 1am, seven days a week.
An ATC spokesman said the hotel would help drive revenue as the racecourse “continues to become a seven-day-a-week entertainment precinct”.
“The opportunity for a new hotel is compelling and will provide an alternate revenue stream to continue to invest into Royal Randwick Racecourse,” he said.
He said the hotel will complement plans for night racing, but “the fundamental key drivers for the hotel development are based on ATC’s current and forecast race day and non-race day activities”.
Randwick Greens mayor Philipa Veitch said she was personally opposed to horse racing and gambling and “think there are much better uses of public land in this densely populated area”. Credit: Rhett Wyman
However, the hotel also has the potential to yield high negative impacts on health and wellbeing because of 50 gaming machines without consideration to and implementation of mitigation strategies, a social and economic impact assessment found.
Greens councillor Rafaela Pandolfini said the proposal included substantial bar areas, and internal and external gaming rooms.
“Will this development have some kind of casino aspect included?” she asked.
Pandolfini said the area lacked small live music venues and gallery spaces, yet the council continued to approve huge developments “focused on gambling culture, including the Juniors development where the main revenue is from pokie machines”.
Pandolifini said there were many issues with the hotel proposal in its current form and “not endorsing the DA should be considered”.
“It is our understanding that were Randwick Council to not endorse this DA, it would go to the Independent Planning Commission and this would give residents a greater opportunity to express their concerns,” she said.
The submission by council staff raises other concerns about the proposal including the bulk and scale of the proposed building as well as its visual impact.
The report also points to potential for noise impacts during construction and entertainment, pedestrian safety and the impact on flying foxes in Centennial Park, but stops short of opposing the proposal.
Randwick Greens mayor Philipa Veitch said she was concerned about impacts from increased traffic as well as noise and vibration during construction.
“I think it’s very likely that this hotel development will be used to support night racing if and when that gets off the ground, and as such do not support it,” she said.
“I’m personally opposed to horse racing and gambling and think there are much better uses of public land in this densely populated area.”
A state significant development, the ATC’s hotel plans will be assessed by the Planning Department, which called the $94 million proposal “the next chapter in the evolution of Royal Randwick”.
“It will offer accommodation next to the track and support the growth of the equine industry by capitalising on the existing precinct, which has been operating for more than 150 years,” said the department’s executive director Anthea Sargeant.
A Planning Department spokeswoman said the statements “speak to facts about the proposal and do not indicate support”.
“The department is development-agnostic and assesses proposals on strategic merit, technical input, and stakeholder feedback,” she said.
But Veitch said she was very concerned about the comments “that could be seen to be endorsing the proposal before it has been determined”.
“The community rightfully expects the department to be impartial and assess all developments on their merit, and I hope all public submissions will be carefully considered before any decision is made,” she said.
Racing Minister David Harris said the government supported a strong, vibrant and sustainable racing industry.
“As well as the benefits to racing, major events at Royal Randwick always generate a significant economic boost across Sydney with surrounding restaurants, pubs and hotels often at capacity,” he said.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.