Alison Johnstone and Andy Wightman, the Scottish Green MSPs for Lothian, today added their weight to calls for an independent review of the governance of Musselburgh Racecourse amid a management crisis that is putting 150 local jobs at risk.
The East Lothian venue, which sits on Common Good land and has hosted horse racing since 1816, is set to lose its licence from the British Horseracing Authority over concerns at the way the business is run.
Alison Johnstone MSP said: “The people employed at Musselburgh racecourse are understandably concerned for their future, and the bickering between East Lothian Council and the Lothian Racing Syndicate who jointly run the course is not helping. This is a major local employer and the secretive way it is run has put its future in jeopardy.”
Andy Wightman MSP, Land Reform spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said: “Musselburgh racecourse uses common good land and should be run transparently in the interests of the community, but instead its management is shrouded in secrecy.
“East Lothian Council’s leadership have stuck their heads in the sand in response to very serious allegations about governance and votes of no confidence in management. The racecourse needs to be opened up to public scrutiny if it is to have a future.”
CURRENT POSITION
The current position is that unless the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC) which runs the racecourse commits to the conditions attached to the racing licence issued by the British Horseracing Association, there will be no racing at Musselburgh for the foreseeable future.
There is a race meeting planned for 14 July 2017 but unless the MJRC undertakes to a more open form of governance by tomorrow Thursday at 5pm, then there is no possibility of getting a licence for next Friday’s racing.
A meeting of the board has been called by the chairman Councillor Willie Innes for next week, but this will not allow the 14 July fixture to proceed.
COMMENT FROM BHA
The BHA said : “As has already been made clear to the licence holder, MJRC, the BHA is minded to grant a renewal of Musselburgh’s racecourse licence subject to the agreement of the MJRC to an independent governance review and implementation of any recommendations by 31 December 2017.
“We have provided a commitment to work with the MJRC and Musselburgh racecourse to address any practical issues with implementation. The matter is entirely in the hands of the MJRC and we look forward to receiving such an undertaking from the MJRC by the end of Thursday 6 July so that the planned fixture on 14 July can continue. The BHA is not in a position to confirm that fixture will go ahead without such a commitment.”
The Edinburgh Reporter understands that the BHA is quite unimpressed by the fact that the MJRC does not appear to be complying with its request. It seems that the organisation was not advised direct that a meeting would not be held until next week, and knew nothing of it until they read about it in the Racing Post.
Apparently MJRC had shared their news with the publication but not the licensing body.
TEMPORARY LICENCE
We further believe that if the racecourse does meet the BHA’s requirements then a temporary license could be issued to the end of 2017 which would mean that this process would not have to be repeated for each fixture.
There are future meetings planned in July, August, September and October as it stands at the moment.
The position as far as we have been told by Councillor Innes who chairs the MJRC is that he is trying to ensure that any meeting has enough members to be quorate. This is given as an explanation as to why the next committee meeting cannot be held till next week.
COMMENT FROM COUNCILLOR INNES
Councillor Innes told us yesterday : “I am determined to secure the future of racing at Musselburgh. The racecourse is a tremendous asset to the county which, having received significant investment from its owner East Lothian Council over the years, is a highly-regarded and popular facility, which attracts race-goers from far and wide. It also benefits from a committed, hard-working and knowledgeable workforce, who deserve certainty and stability.
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