Bird watching club hits out at proposal to relocate Rosehill Racecourse to Olympic Park brick pit

A proposal to relocate Rosehill Racecourse to Olympic Park has ruffled feathers among a Sydney bird watching club with fears it could have a ‘devastating impact’ on local wildlife and ‘drive birds away’.

A proposal to relocate Sydney’s Rosehill Racecourse to a historic brick pit at Olympic Park is facing a fresh hurdle as environmental groups issue a blunt warning over the potential impacts on endangered habitats of birds.

Bird watchers have hit out at a NSW Government plan to shift the racecourse to the brick pit nature park near Olympic Park Station as part of ongoing plans to rezone the existing Rosehill horse racing track into 25,000 high rise homes.

The proposed relocation has been fuelled by the government’s ambitious housing agenda and could see the Australian Turf Club – which owns Rosehill – pocket an estimated $5 billion if the land is redeveloped.

But the move has ruffled feathers among the 400-member strong Cumberland Bird Observers Club which said the potential to relocate the racecourse to the brick pit could have a “significant and in some cases a devastating impact” on a wide variety of bird species.

There has been speculation a racetrack could run around the perimeter of the brick pit which previously operated as a state brickworks before being rehabilitated into a nature park.

A photo of the Olympic Park brick pit.

Martin Mansfield – a conservation officer at the Cumberland Bird Observers Club – said a racecourse would not just require a track itself but an “enormous area of infrastructure”.

He said the brick pit is also home to threatened bird species including the Bar-tailed Godwit, Latham’s Snipe and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

“The construction of a racecourse and its associated infrastructure would require the destruction of large amounts of vegetation which is essential habitat for birds and other animals,” he wrote in a submission to the NSW Government.

Bird watchers have hit out at the proposed relocation.

“It has been suggested that somehow a racecourse could be constructed at the brick pit without any significant impact on the brick pit and its surrounding area – this is patently absurd and fanciful.

“Moreover the large attendances at the racecourse would inevitably drive birds away.”

The club’s criticism is the latest speed bump in ongoing negotiations to rezone Rosehill into housing – a proposal that still requires the tick of approval from Australian Turf Club members.

A photo of some of the birdlife at the brick pit.

Famed trainer Gai Waterhouse is among members who have already hit out at the proposal, saying she was “incensed” by the idea of redeveloping the historic track into housing.

The bird club said transforming the brick pit into a racecourse could result in a further loss of open space for the densely populated Olympic Park suburb and greater western Sydney region.

Figures from the Australian bird register Birdata show 138 species of birds have been recorded at the Olympic Park brick pit over the last 10 years from 2014 to 2024.

The brick pit was reclassified into an urban park following the closure of a NSW brickworks at the site.

The brick pit is also home to a population of endangered frogs which were first discovered at the brick pit in 1992.

Despite setbacks and conceding he is “not confident of getting Gai over the line”, Premier Chris Minns said the rezoning of Rosehill presented a “great opportunity” to address the state’s housing needs.

“We’d love to see Rosehill turned into affordable housing, more housing for young people, with a massive new park, more open space, with access to public transport in the gateway to Western Sydney,” he said.

Bird species observed at the brick pit include the Bar-tailed Godwit.

A NSW Government inquiry is currently investigating the proposed redevelopment of Rosehill and is due to report its findings by November 30 this year.

If the land is redeveloped, the NSW Government has pledged to create an extra stop on the new Metro West between Parramatta and Sydney’s CBD.

Revenue raised from a potential sale could also assist the Australian Turf Club to fund upgrades and build new facilities in its other venues across Sydney.