Night Racing at Royal Randwick Racecourse

I live on Doncaster Avenue in close proximity to the racecourse and the Doncaster Hotel.
At present, I have a considerable issue with excess noise that results in me not being able to sleep at two times of the day.
The time that there is excess noise early in the day is around 5:45am - 6:30am most days of the week (less so on Monday) when the masses of cyclists ride from Centennial Park on Doncaster Avenue towards La Perouse. Due to the state of the road and the number of cars that park on the bike lane, the groups of cyclists yell "hole", "middle", "car door", "left" and "right". To try to manage this, I have bought sound reducing curtains and additional soft furnishings, but it hasn't really helped.
The other time that there is excess noise, is later in the day when an event has been on at the subject racecourse. This come (at a reasonable hour) when the masses of people are arriving, but more so at an unreasonable hour as they are either departing the racecourse or when they are kicking on to the Doncaster Hotel or departing the hotel.
I don't mean to be unreasonable, but if the night racing is to proceed on the additional nights and I am being woken up by the cyclists in the morning, it doesn't leave a decent window for sleep. Some suggested remedies would be to either install better cycling infrastructure, limit traffic flow on Doncaster avenue, repair the potholes on Doncaster Ave and/or prevent the expanded operation of the night racing.

To whom it may concern,

I am a resident who lives along Doncaster Ave and am objecting to the proposal to implement Night Racing at Royal Randwick Racecourse. There are several factors which contribute to this objection and I will highlight below.

Firstly, traffic congestion along Doncaster Ave and Alison Rd during the evening peak hour is already very heavy. With the addition of extra cars and commuters attending the race course, this would add greater strain to an already busy road network.

Secondly, the spillover affect of drunk racegoers is always evident in the area surrounding the race course. Incidents of people passed over on the sidewalk, crossing streets without looking at traffic, rubbish and litter, noise and rowdiness (especially around the Doncaster Pub) always occur during the usual racing season. There is almost a guarantee that this will occur especially during night racing as people will be attending as an after work gathering or instead of going into town on a Saturday night.

Thirdly, there has been incidents of physical 'punch ups' along the street with a recent occurrence several months ago where a group of clearly drunk men were fighting along the Doncaster Ave / Alison Rd intersection. It is quite clear that some racegoers see going to the races as an excuse to get drunk, how will the ATC curb off excessive drinking. And even if attendees are evicted from the venue, what happens then? Does it no longer become the responsibility of the race course and simply the public's problem?

There are many families which live in the streets surrounding along the Doncaster Ave side of Kensington, most have young families and children. The traffic, noise and safety concerns of residents are the primary issues as to why I am objecting to this proposal.

Regards
Tanapong Ratanapatoom

The introduction of night racing at randwick racecourse will cause a great disruption to the nearby residents. The noise will be increased as well as traffic. Night lighting will disrupt the relaxation and peace of ratepaying residents.

Night racing will be a major disruption to my rest at night as I live extremely close to the racecourse

Objection due to: significant negative impact on local area & community safety including: increased lewd behaviour - currently on race days I have witnessed many people (mostly men) urinating on the street, fighting, aggressive behaviour, road rage, vomiting on public areas / footpaths; large amount of rubbish (mostly empty alcohol bottles & take away food containers) left on the streets after race days; behaviours continue late into the night disturbing sleep; all these increase feelings of unsafety in my home/ streets where I live - currently some race days I don't even venture out to the local shops -; excessive noise from people going to & from the event especially close to the Doncaster Hotel & adjoining bottle shop; I feel having night racing will actually makes these issues even worse (cover of night); excessive increased traffic already occurs on current race days - makes it very hard to drive anywhere - takes a lot of extra time, night racing will make this worse /extend the time period where traffic impedes locals movements; impact on street parking, ; increased potential for gambling & associated damages (both due to races & poker machines at the local pub); impact on police services attending to mentioned behaviours when there are more important issues they should be attending to

I object to Night racing at Randwick racecourse primarily on noise concerns at night. Local Doncaster Ave residents have been subjected to years (5 years plus) of noise and pollution due to the light rail stabling yard construction. We are all fed up and sick of all the noise, vibration and light flooding our backyards and homes. We can not put up with another event that will cause lots of noise at night that will be another source of angst and stress for local residents. I have to go to bed early around 9pm due to work commitment and this need peace and quiet rather than more noise and extra people roaming around the streets, most likely to be intoxicated. It is already hard to live with the extra vibrations the teams cause when they move around the light rail stabling yard at night and it will make our lives even more difficult if night racing is allowed.
It is already hard to find parking at night when I get home from work and if they allow night racing it will be even harder to find parking as race patrons will park in nearby streets to go to the races. The local residents do not need extra traffic in the area. I had on previous occasions had intoxicated race goers pee on my front garden and also ripping out fence palings as they are too drunk and do dares because of their friends. We do not need these people around at night because they will damage local properties especially if it’s at night and they will do stupid things - please do not let this happen for local residents safety and property protection.
These two main reasons alone means night racing should not go ahead as it will badly affect local residents around the racecourse and we have suffered enough already with the building of the light rail and also the stabling yard construction. All we want is some peace and quiet - not the AJC having their way to make a few bucks at the expense of local residents.

The exploitation of animals for humans to gamble on is deplorable. Horse (and any other animal) racing should not be expanded, it should be shut down.

This project has the potential to destroy residential amenity for many suburbs around Randwick.

Please refer to attached letter.

I am opposed to the proposal for night racing for a number of reasons:
- As a local resident, I am accustomed to race day inconvenience - audible race calling, traffic jams before & after, load inebriated patrons - but at least by 7pm the neighbourhood is quiet. The prospect of traffic jams & drunk patrons exiting the racecourse into our street after 10pm is alarming. I do not believe it could be adequately managed. Pedestrians are not supposed to exit onto Ascot St now but they do in large numbers.
- We have had big problems in the past with late finishing concerts in the racecourse. It is almost impossible to police poorly behaved patrons after dark and our safety & peace will be compromised.
- There are many night time activities available to the public in the area with no shortage of drinking & gambling venues. This proposal will not improve the local amenity.
- The installation of a massive lighting system that realise on diesel generators is environmentally unsound. With the current concerns surrounding carbon emissions, it is amazing to see a proposal to install diesel generators in Sydney. It demonstrates that the proponent is not concerned about the environment, just profit.
- The lighting of the precinct will greatly disturb the neighbourhood. The multilevel car park will be even more brightly lit with cars exiting with their lights on shining into neighbouring properties.
I believe that this proposal should be rejected.

Many of the current Royal Randwick racegoers leaving the racecourse are intoxicated, obnoxious
loud when walking past the building & use the building side access entrance as a toilet. The racegoers use to use the building refuse room as a restroom & it only stopped when the building strata installed a security device on the door. The racecourse authority does not manage or control the crowd movement once the racegoers have left the racecourse premises, leaving the community suffer from the consequence of the drunken clientele.

I strongly object to the night time racing on many local environmental issues as well as social grounds - you shoudl nto be encouraging peopel to gamble more on a sport that inflicts animal cruelty! From a local environment perspectitive the the following items have not been addressed properly and some of the answers are unaccaepatble to local residents:
Noise – from car & bus traffic, the public address system by race callers, outdoor entertainment and amplified music (particularly at the conclusion of race meetings); and movement of horse floats at the conclusion of racing events. It is NOT acceptable to have this noise until 10pm on weeknight from such a large scale complex.
Light spillage - again unacceptable to have all the surrounding area lit up from a safety perspective - this light will impact surrounding resdents
Races attract anti social behaviour - drunks at night are noisy and also hazardous - there is no arguing the level of alcohol and the drunks found everywhere in the streets on race day
Parking - street parking is so scarce for residents, race days are hell and not to confront this at night after a long day at work it is unacceptable
This is a densely populated area with more and more units being built in the area, you are destroyimng our lifestyle and quality of life with your unreasonable growth targets, cramming more people into the area for night racing will make it worse. The only people who win here are the bookmakers and NSW Govt obtaining more tax revenue from gambling, the tax paying and rate paying residents will lose out again! I strongly oppose this idea, stick to day racing.

A wonderful initiative by NSW Govt. and ATC which will provide jobs for local residents and economic growth for the state and the local business community now recovering from the impact of Covid19. Thoroughbred racing has been an important part of the fabric of the local Randwick community since 1842 and night racing will provide ongoing impetus to further the recreational benefits to the residents of and visitors to Sydney generally. We have a vibrant and successful racing industry in Australia that is the envy of the world and with forward thinkers working on projects like night racing this trend will continue. Congratulations to all concerned, can't wait to be there on opening night.

This is an appalling proposal. Not only is spending $23 million on lighting a complete and indecent waste of money, this proposal would make the local area into some kind of entertainment district which would be very undesirable for local residents. It's such a ludicrous and self-indulgent proposal and those behind it should, instead, focus their efforts on contributing to worthwhile projects and causes rather than this abomination.

Then, of course, there's the cruelty of horse racing itself, an activity (I won't call it a sport because it is anything but) that is losing its social licence and for VERY good reasons.

This decadent and indecent plan needs to be scrapped. I cannot believe that someone would have the nerve, the audacity, and the avarice to even propose it in the first place. It is nothing but a circus of cruelty, greed, and poor taste all wrapped in one.

To whom it may concern,

As a local resident close to the racecourse, i am objecting to what i consider to be a gross misuse of the facility and to what will be a large problem for the amenity of all local residents.

My issues with allowing night events (irrespective of the number of these events or what kind of event they are) are as follow:

Traffic
Traffic on race days in the local area is horrendous. Ubers, taxis, private vehicles all pile up around Doncaster Ave and adjoining streets making it impossible for local residents to leave or return home without encountering heavy traffic. This occurs throughout the event but peaks at the end of the events and lasts for hours aftewards. Allowing night racing will increase the frequency of these events, which is grossly unfair to local residents.

Foot Traffic

Foot traffic around the local streets during and after these events is increased. With an increase in foot traffic comes an increase in noise. On Ascot st where I live, race day crowds commonly spill out of the Ascot Carpark exit into a neighbouring dog park and continue to drink and make large amounts of noise in the area. It's bad enough during the day when locals are trying to enjoy the space with their families, children and pets, but would be made worse at night when children and other household members are trying to sleep.

Noise

The noise from the racecourse is a huge issue for local residents, irrespective of what kind of event is occurring. This noise travels throughout the local streets. It is only tolerable during the day because residents know that it will end at night. If night events are allowed to occur, residents will be impacted when they are resting and sleeping. Many houses along the border of the racecourse are owned by families with young children, many of which go to sleep early. How is it fair for local residents to have to compete with noise levels from the racecourse in these circumstances?

Parking

Parking remains an ongoing problem in Kensington. The council has approved many new student accommodation types with large amounts of students moving in. Many of these buildings dont have parking levels. In tandem with this, race day events have always created huge parking issues for locals as racegoers take their spots by those wishing to avoid the carpark at the racecourse. Night events will deprive locals, especially on Doncaster Ave where many houses rely on onstreet parking, of parking spaces. This will be a huge issue for families returning from events around Sydney and for those who are returning home from work. Local parking limits are not deterring raceday parkers.

Behavior of members exiting the race course

On racedays, member racegoers leave the course inebriated. They spill out onto the local streets and make a large amount of noise. As mentioned above, they also congregate in the side streets. For example, many racegoers congregate in the local dog park on Ascot street. They do this to continue drinking, or whilst they wait around for their transport. In these circumstances, they make an incredible amount of noise. If this were to happen at night, it would adversely impact local residents trying to sleep and relax.
There have also been instances of bad behavior by these racegoers, as they have pulled out street signs in the local streets, vandalized local playground equipment, thrown their used rubbish (bottles, cigarettes) into the gardens of local properties. Night time will only encourage this kind of behaviour even more when there is less visibility.

Light pollution

Having night events would create a large amount of light pollution for neighboring properties. This would adversely affect the ability of locals to rest or sleep, and would also have impacts on local wildlife. Most other venues that have night lights and night events do not have residential properties immediately backing onto the racecourse, and have a buffer. This is not the case for local Kensington residents.

Types of events

As mentioned the Sydney Morning Herald, there are potential plans to allow other types of events such as Sky Diving at the racecourse. What guarantees does the government offer that events such as skydiving wont adversly impact local residents? What would happen if a diver hits a household's roof or lands on children playing in the backyard? It's an incredibly short sighted idea that only benefits the racecourse as an additional income source.
This event is a great example of a gross misuse of the facility and opens pandora's box for other kinds of events to occur at the venue which would adversely impact local residents. What other events might also be offered at the racecourse at night? Would these events have similar or greater impacts on traffic, noise, light pollution, parking?

This proposal must be rejected on the impacts mentioned above. Randwick racecourse is NOT an entertainment distract. It was not purpose built or planned for such a thing. There is a delicate balance for which this facility has to balance. These new plans throw the balance of this relationship out and favour those with money to make rather than local residents.

Why does Sydney need nighttime racing in addition to day time? What problem does that solve other than make the racecourse more money and promote greater levels of gambling in the community? There has to be a balance here and this plan should be rejected on the basis that it is not balanced or fair for locals.

I object to the Racecourse in general (it's 2021 why are we still thrashing animals for spectator sport?) so I am also opposed to the idea of it expanding its operations and developing more infrastructure. Not only this, but the proposed Development will have adverse affects on noise and light pollution aswell as the local environment. The night races will produce additional noise in an area with alot of existing noise pollution (from Moore Park), it will add light pollution which is harmful to bird and bat colonies in Centennial park, and, the diesel generators would not only be loud but will consume a large amount of fuel which contributes to climate change.

Please see attached letter outlining objections to the proposal.

Please find attached EES response

This is a great idea, and I am also happy that it'll put the light rail to better use at night. However, I am concerned that this will cause unnecessary noise pollution for neighbouring residents. The proposal needs an emphasis on noise reduction