Ifully support the project

Written submission – Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Objection to the - Newcastle Jockey Club – New Stables Complex (SSD-12982045) – State Significant Development
As a resident in Chatham Street, we write this submission to make objection to this development on the following grounds;
520 horses housed permanently in 7, 2 storey stable buildings with pools, walkers, sand roll, wash bays is unsuitable for the following reasons;
 This development should not go ahead as it is the wrong development for a residential area.
Impact on air quality and significant increase in Odours
 Approx. 15 tonnes of manure every day will be defecated. This will be removed only once in a 24-hour period manually from each horse’s stables. This is not satisfactory and odour will be constant.
 This fecal matter, staying in the stables will mean odour & vermin(flies) will be transported direct from the stables through the open vent design to the noses of residents of Chatham & Darling street.
 The manure will be removed into a box with a lid. Many comments have suggested that these lids are rarely put on. This solution relies on human effort & diligence. The storage of this manure will be in a storage building naturally ventilated across from our house. This is not satisfactory. Using this manual handling bin system is a 18th century solution proposed for a 22nd century high rise permanently stabled 520 horses which is going to be operational for at least another 100 years (expected life of any commercial building).
 As per the report, the storage of 156 bins full of fecal matter of horses is proposed to be stored 20 meters away from my residence. Each bin has a capacity of 780L. This is highly inappropriate location even if the solution will actually work. Why is the waste being stored so close to the residential area when NJC has a land holding of 48 hectares? Surely a more appropriate location for waste storage can be found on a site this big.
 The stables are naturally ventilated 24 hours a day, 7days a week with no filter on air pollution to minimise contamination. No consideration given on impact on residences. Smells/ odour will be a constant reminder of the 520 horses permanently stabled.
 Stables are exactly in east direction of Chatham street residences. Meaning an easterly wind will most definitely come laden with odour. How can this simple fact be omitted from the report.

The procedure for fecal matter needs to have more technologically advanced solution & any storage should be kept away from the residential area. Why does the NJC not look into underground storage of the manure & pump it out every day. May be the storage can be done in an empty area in the middle of race track which keeps the odour away as much as it can.

Significant increase in Noise
 Significant increase in noise 24 hours a day, 7days by horses and people.
 In acoustics report there is no mention of horses & noise generated by the activities of horses walking on metal ramps & concrete surfaces. E.g. horseshoes striking the suspended floors of concrete/ metal surfaces of first floor at any time of the day or night.
 In acoustics report no mention of animal noise, such as horse neighs, groans & snorts etc.
 In acoustics report no mention of early morning sound of 10 horses walking on the each of 7 round Horse walkers.
 Increase in truck movements 24 hours, 7days each week dropping and picking up horses
 In acoustics report there is no mention of cars arriving at early hours of staff/individual businesses which will be engaged on taking care of 520 horses.
 In acoustics report there is no mention of the noise from the 200 cars arriving at the 2.30am to 3.30am window. There is not enough parking for this staff on the NJC grounds, therefore they will have to use the streets.
In the public consultation (which was a ‘tick the box’ session, none of the concerns raised that day have been followed up) we were told the stables will have openings for cross ventilation which will mean the noise suppression from animals will be quite impossible. There is no mention of that in the report.
There needs to be a detailed consultation with community & a complete report carried out on the day to day operations of the proposed stables. Collective noise from 520 horses will produce significant noise & it is unfathomable that the development is not taking the impact of day to day operations and the significant impact this will have on the neighboring community.

Pest/ Rodent Control
 Increase in rats, mice, fly’s all vermin, no suitable mitigation has been stipulated, acknowledged or addressed satisfactorily.
 Building development is too close to residential, the impact on residence will be significantly impacted due to having permanently housed horses. Compared to the day stables that has been there up to now.
It was disappointing to see a one page letter from a Pest Control company for a Multi Million Dollar project of State Significance. Concerns were raised by members of the community in the information session with NJC management in regards to flies, rats & cockroaches. There is already significant issue with flies in the summer each year. The impact of 520 horses on our doorsteps is to be honest unimaginable.
The one-page letter does not stipulate the qualifications of the underwriter, Mr. Steve Podgorelec. It is disappointing to note that so much work has gone into the planning & lodgement but one of the main areas of concern has not been taken seriously by NJC and has not been properly addressed.

Traffic & Parking Management
 No car parking for race day’s or other events held at the NJC which has a capacity of more than of 10,000 people, so increased traffic and impact on surrounding streets.
 The Seca Solutions Report does not address the loss of parking due to the development of the site. The proposed area of development is currently used as parking by racegoers. Every race day the streets get flooded with overflow from race goers parking. The report should take a look at the car parking situation on any given race day.
 Attached are drone images from recent race days. Post development where will patrons attending, park their cars? The photos attached are from a race day where Covid 19 public health orders were in place, 1 person per 2m2 rule apply so not at capacity and the carpark and streets are full.

 The Seca Solutions report underestimates the number of vehicles arriving each day. Assuming full capacity of 520 horses. As per the Operation & waste management plan prepared by NJC a total of approx. 152 staff each morning from roughly 3am. Where will they park? This does not include daily operational staff for the NJC.
• 107 strappers/ stablehands
• Approximately 35 trackwork jockeys
• 10 trainers attending trackwork on any given morning

 The Seca Solutions traffic report does not take into account the daily staff operations and movements of car parking of over 152 people.
Due to the above a significant impact on health and wellbeing due to;
• Excess noise – i.e., broken sleep.
• Continuous air pollution i.e., reduced use of outdoor areas, impact on health, increased likelihood of disease.
• Increase in vermin – i.e., rats, mice, cockroaches and fly’s, increased likelihood of disease and sickness for residents.
• Reduced Nor’ east sea breezes due to large development.
We look forward on your consideration of the above objection and the contemplation to not proceed with this development on this site. A project of this size is not suitable for a residential area and the significant negative impact it will have on the residents in the surrounding area.

Submission to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment re the proposal for State Significant Development: Newcastle Jockey Club New Stables Complex
Reference: Application Number 12982045 on exhibition until 15 November 2021
Submission relating to Parking and Traffic Flow - App 16 in the development proposal
Thank you for an opportunity to make a submission in regard to the proposed development
Having read the letter from SECAsolutions, the only evidence quoted in the response to App 16 in reference to issues of parking and traffic flow, is a lengthy report of their survey of possible congestion. Their report gives a focus on the intersection of Darling and Chatham Streets, but ignores other significant traffic flow in the vicinity. Despite its detail I can see no mention of the location of a major institution which influences the amount of traffic on Chatham Street and the busy corner where it intersects with Darling and Melville Streets. This intersection has a Stop sign, which already causes considerable break to traffic flow, particularly at busy times each day. As frequent users of the intersection we know the difficulty which all traffic experiences in negotiating this busy corner.
Opposite the Chatham Street boundary of Newcastle Racecourse is Merewether High School, which is the selective high school for the Hunter region. As would be expected the school generates considerable traffic, particularly during the hours 7.30 to 9.30 am, and 2.30 to 4.30 pm, which are also busy times for horse floats, and other large vehicles entering and leaving the racecourse. As there is inadequate parking on-site, most of the vehicles used by staff and students of the school must park on either side of Chatham Street. Also, two pre-schools located on the racecourse site generate a large volume of traffic within these same hours.
As a regional high school, Merewether High has a considerable number of special school buses during the morning and afternoon peak hours. As part of the survey of traffic movements it would be assumed that the bus companies may have been contacted to ascertain the number of buses serving the school each day, transporting students to all parts of the Hunter region, including Port Stephens local government area. There is no evidence in their letter that SECAsolutions surveyed these bus movements.
The report on traffic flow makes no mention of the considerable bicycle traffic in the peak hours. Hundreds of students cycle to this school and to others close by, but they have not been considered in the survey. The mix of cycles and large trucks on busy roads is a very dangerous one and there are no dedicated cycleways for cyclists to use, so they have no alternative to using the busy roads.
There is currently no marked pedestrian crossing from the racecourse side to high school side of Chatham Street, where many students cross during the morning and afternoon peaks. Traffic flow is impeded by those crossing as well as the great risks of serious accidents to the pedestrians. Those who attempt to cross are at the mercy of the heavy traffic, including horse floats. It has always been the school’s responsibility to assist students to cross, as the City Council has never installed a marked crossing, nor has the state government accepted that traffic monitors are needed. Such major concerns of safety have been ignored in the consultants’ report on traffic flow in the whole area.
Despite many representations to Newcastle City Council about the absence of a sealed footpath on the racecourse side of Chatham Street, much of the verge remains unsealed. It is to be hoped that any development of the racecourse site will include an upgrade of the footpaths on the boundary of the racecourse, including the northern side of Darling Street.
During the construction period there will be a need to ensure access is available for pedestrians and cyclists using the footpath on the racecourse side of Chatham Street. During the morning and afternoon peak periods this path and verge has a continuous flow of students entering and leaving the school premises.
With these concerns about any increase to the existing heavy traffic flow, plus the number of vehicles parked on both sides of Chatham St, we wish to request that those responsible for the approval of this State Significant Development give further attention to the issues of Traffic and Parking in assessing the project. To date there has been quite inadequate attention to the matters raised in this submission.
Submitted by Isabel and Doug Hewitt
35 Veda St, Hamilton 2303.
E: [email protected] M: 0431 935 097

The project is a very important next step for the upgrading of Newcastle Racecourse for the very significant thoroughbred racing industry in Newcastle. Most of the existing stables on the Beaumont Street side of the course are fifty plus years old and these can be replaced with the new stable development and the land better utilised for the community and also assist the funding of the new stables. The plan is a no brainer as the proposed site for the new complex is very much part of the racecourse property and is far better located so as not to disrupt the surrounding community whose buildings located on Chatham Road have been there for decades the residents of which have always lived with the racecourse as their good neighbour.

This application is a fantastic opportunity for the NJC to create a world class equine facility in a regional area. It would also give the existing trainers based at Broadmeadow the opportunity to stay and train their horses at Broadmeadow, without having to go to Sydney or other capital cities. This facility will also create a number of local jobs, and attract other trainers to bring their horses to the area.
All these factors are nothing but positive for the NJC and the Newcastle community, and therefore I support this development. I will be extremely disappointed if this development application is not approved.

Please see the attached Statement of Objection and Reasons for Objection.