The turf club owns more than nine hectares of surplus land including car parking near Rosehill Racecourse.Credit:Rhett Wyman
The club was open to the government constructing a station on the surplus land it owns near the racecourse so long as it did not disrupt racing at the venue,a spokesman said. In return,the ATC would want a significant increase in allowable building density on its land near the Parramatta River.
However,the ATC has emphasised that it is staunchly opposed to building a station on the racecourse itself. Rosehill and Randwick Racecourse are Sydney’s two primary racetracks.
The turf club has met with a team led by former federal transport bureaucrat Mike Mrdak,who was commissioned by the Minns government toscrutinise Sydney’s metro rail projects. The review team’s final report is due to be released later this month.
Mayors,universities, large property owners anddevelopers have been jostling for extra stations on the 24-kilometre Metro West line between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta. If additional stations are built,Camellia-Rosehill andSilverwater are considered the most likely locations at the western end of the line,whileZetland is the leading contender in the east.
The ATC also owns the Rosehill bowling club,pictured centre right,on the opposite side of James Ruse Drive to the racecourse.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Parramatta’s newly elected lord mayor,Pierre Esber,said Metro West needed to deliver on its potential to connect communities like Camellia and Newington,which the council has repeatedly argued should have stations. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It would be madness to waste it,” he said.
A compelling feature of the surplus land owned by the ATC is that it is the least contaminated of properties in Camellia-Rosehill,which was home to heavy industry for decades.