Sydney Speedway fans protest NSW Government Metro plan
Hundreds of motor racing fans are protesting a NSW Government plan to demolish the iconic Sydney Speedway to make way for a Sydney Metro train shed with attendees describing the site as “sacred.”
NSW
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Hundreds of motor racing fans have gathered at the Sydney Speedway tonight for a public rally critiquing the state government’s decision to bulldoze the much loved site.
It comes after the owners of Sydney Speedway were left in shock yesterday when they were told their iconic venue would be bulldozed in 2021 to make way for a new train marshalling yard for the Western Sydney Metro.
The crown land at Clyde which the speedway sits on will be acquired by the government as part of the Metro project, along with 115 other properties stretching 25km from Westmead to the Sydney CBD.
The protest has attracted racing enthusiasts despite the government’s promise that it will build a new speedway at a different site in Sydney.
But the community said they do not believe the government’s promises.
Danny Vassall has been coming to the Sydney Speedway since he was a newborn.
“I grew up here watching my heroes. My dad raced here since the day it opened,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“I think the best solution is for them to find somewhere else to put their train shed. You can’t trust a politician’s word. I’ll believe (the government’s promise) once we turn the first lap.”
Mr Vassall raced against his father in 2016, scrapping all their savings to buy their race cars.
“I have got a little boy and I’ve been bringing him same as me. We don’t go to vacations, I’ve never left Australia. We put all our money into coming here.”
Len Edwards first started coming to the Granville from Newcastle when his son Todd, now 34, was an infant.
MORE: 116 properties to be bulldozed for Metro
“I come with both my sons Todd and Isaac. Speedway has been in our blood, my dad was a racer,” he said.
Todd now brings his own son, Chase, every weekend to see the races.
“He’s race car mad and absolutely runs amok. We all come here as a family.”
The organisers said they are determined to increase audience numbers between now and 2021.
“It is a place of worship. We go to embrace family and community spirit … it is a place of learning and growth,” one fan Cassidy Roberts said.
“This bit of dirt is sacred to us. Friendships lasting lifetimes have begun in this place.”
A petition to stop the relocation of the speedway was also started at the rally.
Attendees were encouraged to write letters to the government telling them “Leave us alone.”
Concerns were also raised about the government’s search for a new site.
“They want the cheapest site. Do we know if there is asbestos under that hill? Who knows?,” speaker Pete Styles said.
“The government won’t listen to reason but they will listen to numbers.”
A spokesman at the protest said they had learnt about the new site from The Daily Telegraph and not the government.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance said agencies across government will work together to build a new speedway facility, with a range of potential sites on the table.
“The community and racing fans can be assured that the NSW Government remains absolutely committed to relocating speedway racing in Sydney,” Mr Constance said.
“I acknowledge the long standing presence of the current Sydney Speedway and its significance to Western Sydney over the last 42 years. I am absolutely committed to ensuring that speedway racing has a bigger and brighter future in the region for decades to come. The NSW Government owns sufficient land in Western Sydney to accommodate a new speedway facility.”
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Acting Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors and Veterans Geoff Lee said:
“Generations of families have enjoyed speedway racing and thanks to the NSW Government they will be able to continue to do so at a new venue,” he said.
The government will hold a forum on November 15 with motorsport companies to discuss potential options for where the new speedway could be located — which includes the Sydney Motorsport Precinct at Eastern Creek.
The announcement followed outrage from operators of the existing speedway.
Speedway business director Felicity Waldron said the government had not indicated the track would be used for the Sydney Metro West rail line despite two years of renegotiating to renew a Crown land lease that expires in 2026.
“(We’re in) total shock,’’ Mrs Waldron said.
“We’ve been pushing and fighting for two years. We’ve wanted to do major improvements to the facility. In none of that two years have they ever said anything about the train.
“The government has never, ever said and they’ve had ample opportunity in renewing the lease. This is like an episode of The Castle.’’
Speed racing expert Dennis Newlyn said the government will have to ensure the change in location doesn’t impact the racing season.
“The most important factor here is that there is no interruption to the speedway season and its operation. It has to continue on because speedway is a form of motorsport that is held more regularly than any other motorsport. And in Sydney it is on 36 weeks of the year,” he said.
“If the sport is given a new state of the art venue of course that will be beneficial to the multimillion-dollar speedway industry in Sydney.”
Speedway spokesman Wade Augner said the government had not liaised with them on any of the issues.
“It’s all news to us. No one has liaised with us directly about any of it. We’ve had no consultation with any of this,” he said.
“One of the major concerns is that you can’t just build the speedway in 12 months. There is a period when the sport and the industry will stall because people will sell their cars or it will stall their businesses.
“This is going to be a very long pronounced dead period for our industry. I have grave concerns.”