Some interesting facts about Canterbury Park Racecourse

 

*  The formal name for Canterbury Racecourse is “Canterbury PARK Racecourse”,  it is currently owned and operated by the Australian Turf Club (ATC) who is the last remaining thoroughbred racing club in Sydney.

 

* CPRC is approx. 350,000 m2 or 35 Hectares, equal to more than 10% of the total recreation space in all of the old Canterbury Municipality! (The old Canterbury Municipal Council area has about 341 hectares of parkland, recreation space and sporting fields – Canterbury Open space strategy 2017).

 

* Canterbury Park Racecourse became public in 1944 with the advent of the Sydney Turf Club (STC), land was purchased from private holders by way of State government backed debenture notes which were eventually repaid with operating profit.

 

*The suburb of Ashbury shares the largest residential land border with Canterbury Park Racecourse, from 2011 Ashbury was formally classified as a Heritage Conservation Zone and its character houses are strictly protected (Canterbury Bankstown Council Development Control Plan 2012)

 

* Current population projections indicate Canterbury will need to acquire approx. 50% more open-space to maintain the same open space per head of population ratio by 2036!  Releasing land at Canterbury Park for public use will be needed to help achieve this  (Canterbury  Council Open Space Strategy 2017 ,  Department of Planning and Environment Population Projections)

 

 

* Canterbury Park Racecourse was listed as a Heritage item under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Canterbury Local Environmental Plan No. 138 – Canterbury Precinct by the Minister for Planning, Robert Webster, on 10 November 1994 (Gazetted on 18 November 1994, Source: New South Wales Government Gazette No. 154, pp. 6791-6815)

 

*  The current owner of Canterbury Park, the Australian Turf Club (ATC) was formed in 2010 by an ACT of Parliament to merge of the old Sydney Turf Club (STC) with the AJC (Australian Jockey Club)  mainly due to AJC being in financial difficulty. A 10-year moratorium or ban on sale or development of all “necessary” racing assets (Clause 23) was put in place to “prevent a land fire-sale” (STC and AJC Merger ACT 2010)

 

* The Australian Turf Club holds the land titles for Canterbury Park, however its Charter is simply to manage for the purposes of promoting racing, the thoroughbred racing assets and facilities of Sydney. According to the Merger ACT, It is to remain a not for profit organisation where all proceeds need to go back into the management and development of facilities, the ATC does not have the right to sell or dispose of any significant land or asset without the permission of the responsible NSW Minister (currently Minister Kevin Anderson).