Racecourse hotel will benefit Warwick, says Williams

Although 2013 has been a better year for Warwick, like all small courses, it is finding it tough to balance the books with race meetings alone not enough to pay the bills.

A number of courses have a hotel on site but Williams has seen Warwick’s bid to follow suit stymied by red tape and opposition from nearby residents.

He said: “The planning application was submitted in August 2010 but not considered by the committee until May 2012 when it was narrowly turned down despite being recommended for approval by officers.

“Despite what our opponents say, the building would stand on land already used by us for the entrance and a groundsman’s bungalow and would not encroach or obstruct access in any way to St Mary’s Lands.

“We must have the worst racecourse entrance in the country and, not only would the building improve the look of the racecourse, it would offer good quality hotel rooms within a few minutes’ walk of the Market Square, which must benefit tourism in general in the town.”

The cost of the planning application has not been revealed, but is understood to be a hefty six-figure sum, adding pressure to the course’s finances.

And while no one is saying the survival of the course rests on the building of a hotel, the closure of Hereford and Folkestone in the last 12 months shows no course is immune from economic reality.