The head of the NSW Planning Department has thrown cold water on a proposal to relocate Rosehill racecourse to the historic brick pit at Sydney Olympic Park, saying environmental constraints would be likely to inhibit any development.
Racing NSW identified the abandoned brick pit as a potential site for a tier-one racecourse in Sydney if a controversial plan to turn Rosehill into a mini-city of 25,000 homes went ahead.
The former brick pit at Sydney Olympic Park.Credit: Wolter Peeters
NSW Planning Secretary Kiersten Fishburn has downplayed the likelihood of such a proposal going ahead, pointing to significant environmental constraints at the 27-hectare site.
“I do believe the environmental constraints in relation to the brick pit would be inhibitive for any form of development,” she told a parliamentary inquiry into the sale of Rosehill.
While close to transport and entertainment venues, the brick pit has remained undeveloped since it closed in 1988. It was earmarked as a tennis venue for the 2000 Olympics, but the proposal was thwarted following the discovery of endangered green and golden bell frogs.
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The parliamentary committee has previously heard evidence from Sydney Olympic Park Authority chief executive Carla Armanet that the site is zoned as an area of high ecological significance. She said the authority had not been approached about any redevelopment plans.
Fishburn told the hearing this week it was unlikely the land could be developed.
“I think you would be challenged to manage out those environmental constraints under any development outcome,” she said.
