No sign of life at racecourse (From Chelmsford Weekly News)

No sign of life at racecourse

7:00am Saturday 6th February 2010

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A YEAR after a racecourse was handed over to administrators there is still no sign of it being sold.

The group of companies which owned Great Leighs Racecourse went into administration in January last year.

Since then, the track – the first new one to open in Britain since 1927 – has not had a racing licence.

Deals to buy Great Leighs have been agreed, but none finalised, so it continues to stand unused next to the A131.

It was hoped the racecourse, the dream of former owner John Holmes, would bring people, money and jobs into the area.

Mr Holmes said all parties needed to get “onside”, from the British Horseracing Authority to the local authority, to make it happen.

He said: “I spent ten years of my life building a world-class racecourse and it was crushed because of the global financial recession.

“I have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds over the past year trying to pull a deal together and there’s always somebody who doesn’t want to do it.”

He said Royal Bank of Scotland had “pulled the plug and broken their promises” and not supported ways to get a licence – which he describes as “the value of the racecourse” – reinstated.

The bank had been approached by administrators Deloitte as the main creditor.

Mr Holmes also said the association which grants racing licences had not supported the track.

But he insisted: “Great Leighs will race again.”

Roy Whitehead, leader of Chelmsford Council, which granted planning permission for the track, said it had all gone “frustratingly quiet”.

But he said there was little the council could do now it was in the hands of Deloitte.

He added: “We all want to see it up and running. It was in our plans for the future.”

Paul Struthers, a spokesman for the racing authority, said it had “bent over backwards” for Great Leighs.

He said the reason the track was not granted a licence a year ago was a number of conditions were not met, and the authority could only really entertain an application if the racecourse had an owner.

He added 16 fixtures, which are given to new racecourses, were being held for the track.

Deloitte and RBS declined to comment.

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