There were plenty of questions – and a fair bit of unease – when the Waikato Thoroughbred Racing greenfield proposal came before the Tamahere community on Sunday.
Kevin and Rosemary Whyte of Tamahere have concerns over traffic, access and safety. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
The development now has a potential home, artist renderings and a hall full of neighbours with questions, concerns and plaudits.
The multimillion dollar Greenfield development south of Hamilton is intended to replace the Te Rapa, Cambridge and Te Awamutu racecourses and, at the request of potential funders, the Cambridge Harness Raceway.
Steve Bramley
There is even a proposal to investigate moving New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka Sales Centre as three quarters of the horses sold there are from the Waikato and the company’s owner Sir Peter Vela lives near the new site.
If approved, it would reshape not just racing in the Waikato, but daily life for those living closest to it.
Kevin and Rosemary Whyte have lived in Tamahere for 20 years. They are not anti‑racing. In fact, he is part of a harness racing syndicate and understands the industry well.
But standing on a quiet rural road and imagining race day traffic is another matter.
“I’m struggling to see how you get everything in there,” Whyte said.
“We’ve got corners, we’ve got older residents, and we’ve got roads that simply weren’t designed for that level of use.”
He is not opposed to development in principle. Tamahere has changed steadily since they arrived and will continue to do so. But traffic, access and safety are the issues he keeps coming back to.
“You put that level of traffic in and it multiplies everything,” he said.
For Moira Haddrell, whose property sits directly opposite part of the proposed development, the concerns are more immediate. She is part of a newly formed neighbourhood committee representing residents on Pencarrow, Hooker and Duncan roads – the properties most affected by the proposal.
Moira Haddrell is part of a residents’ group working with the project’s developers. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
“It’s all happened very quickly because of the fast‑track requirements,” she said.
That process, enabled after the project was deemed to be of national interest, has compressed timelines and sharpened anxieties. Haddrell said residents were clear they wanted engagement to be genuine, not a box‑ticking exercise.
“We can’t move our houses. So, we need to know how noise, lighting, drainage and construction impacts are going to be managed. If lights are on at 5.30 in the morning and horses are working the track, that affects us.”
At the same time, she can see the potential upside.
“If it’s done as well as they say – with high‑quality landscaping and architecture – it could enhance the area. I’m not opposed to that,” she said.
“I’m opposed to neighbours being an afterthought.”
Project director Steve Bramley, centre, explains the plans to residents. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Project director Steve Bramley is used to these conversations. He has delivered more than 50 community facilities across New Zealand and is currently overseeing the redevelopment of Hawke’s Bay Racing’s new $80 million Flaxmere complex.
He sees the Waikato project as an eight‑to‑10‑year build, not a quick win.
“There’s a lot of work to do. But there’s also a lot of keenness to get this through.”
The proposal is being advanced under the fast‑track approvals regime. Waikato Thoroughbred Racing is preparing to lodge its referral application next month. It is also now considering whether harness racing could be incorporated into the site as part of the national Project Stamina review of racing infrastructure.
That has added another layer of complexity and concern for neighbours already grappling with the scale of what is proposed.
For now, the conversation continues. More meetings are planned. Information is being shared and Tamahere residents are weighing the promise of a world‑class facility against the reality of living next door to it.
As one resident put it quietly after the meeting: “If it’s coming, we just want it done right.”
Tamahere residents and interested parties pore over the artists’ plans of the Waikato Thoroughbred Racing proposal. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Residents took a lot of interest in the artists’ renderings. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
