Lambourn aims to attract more top trainers to the area
The Jockey Club Estates, one of the biggest land owners in the valley of the racehorse with more than 500 acres of training grounds, wants equestrian property to remain intact to attract more trainers to the area, and bolster Lambourn’s standing in the sport.
In Upper Lambourn, there are more horses than cars on the road.
It’s no surprise to discover that around 700 top-flight thoroughbreds are put through their paces every day on the hundreds of acres of gallops surrounding the West Berkshire village.
Planning applications to turn farm land into equestrian property in and around Lambourn are on the increase. There have been several in the past month.
Planning permission from West Berkshire Council here is a fragile economic ecosystem.
On the one hand it supports the horse racing industry which brings in £25m to the region each year.
On the other hand, planners are duty bound to protect the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Attempts by the racing industry to develop Lambourn and challenge front runner Newmarket for the attentions of more top trainers are further complicated by some of the highest property prices in the country.
Most jockeys and equestrian workers don’t get paid well. And there aren’t enough houses to go around.
Report
A report commissioned by Jockey Club Estates and West Berkshire Council in 2019 acknowledged a lack of suitable accommodation for staff.
“Staff recruitment and housing are related and serious issues for Lambourn trainers,” it said.
“Lambourn is set in a highly-attractive area of countryside and this is reflected in high house prices.”
Property Prices
All new planning applications are now stress tested to prove viability in terms of providing enough suitable accommodation for staff as well as the horses before they are considered for approval.
Two former farms within striking distance of Lambourn have submitted planning applications in recent weeks and will soon be turned into both training and rehabilitation centres for race horses, one at Fognam Farm, another Ownham Farm, near Boxford.
Farmers are getting in on the act, applying for equestrian use planning permission to sell land at a premium.
According to Savills, agricultural land prices in the South West have increased from around £1,500 to £7,000 an acre in the last 20 years.
Conservative estimates for premium land next to the UK’s leading race training facilities around Lambourn double that for equestrian use.
Some property owners are hoping to get planning permission to split houses from racing yards and sell them off separately – for greater profit. They get short shrift from the council.
Councillor Howard Woollaston, (Con, Lambourn) said:
“We encourage genuine racing development, but we are trying to avoid any developments in the AONB
“We constantly get people trying to split the house away from the racing yard and we fight it every time as we want to protect the racing industry.”
The influential Jockey Club Estates, one of the biggest land owners in the area with more than 500 acres of training grounds, wants equestrian property to remain intact to attract more trainers to the area, and bolster Lambourn’s standing in the sport.
The only way to get permission to develop in an AONB is to prove ‘exceptional circumstances’. This was the argument put forward by Walkers Logistics, which got planning permission for a 10,000m, 40 foot high warehouse near Membury, despite considerable local opposition earlier this year.
At the other end of the scale, plans for a single farm track in Great Shefford have been rejected by West Berkshire Council which said the new track would be “an unjustified sprawl and negative visual impact of the development in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”
To challenge Newmarket for the attentions of more top trainers The Jockey Club needs to develop land.
It picks up pockets of land here and there and awaits bids from prospective trainers wanting to move in the the Valley of the Racehorse. It spends its profits on things like horse walkways adjacent to roads and horse crossings.
The aim is to build Lambourn as a base for jumps training. It already has courses with Aintree-style fences.
Jockey Club Estates operations manager Will Riggall said:
“Lambourn is steeped in jumping history,
“But we are 70 per cent flat race horses at the moment. We want to build that up again so we are building top class facilities to attract them.
“We are here to provide the trainers with all the strings in their bow to keep competitive, We want to have the best facilities to attract the best trainers, and be the best in the world for horse race training.”
The estate is putting in a planning application for a new circular training track and barn. The council’s policy to protect the industry will help that happen.