Racecourse complex will increase daily traffic by 2,330 trips

An eight-storey commercial and retail centre at the Marsa racecourse will bring in an additional 2,829 car trips every day during weekdays.

The Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) study assessed traffic on the Ceppuna access road and Triq l-ljun, between the Marsa Park & Ride and the Landmark business centre.

Presently the racecourse generates minimal trips, with some 60 horse-racing events attracting between 800 to 1,200 spectators, while traffic on Triq l-Iljun peaks at 1,308 daily trips on weekdays.

The new facilities are expected to increase the number of spectators by 20%.

The development will be a mix of retail, office, and food and beverage outlets, with a three-story arcade for a betting shop, restaurants and VIP boxes connecting a 972-seat grandstand to the commercial complex. A lawned terrace to the east of the grandstand will include a food pavilion. Also proposed is a childcare centre with four floors of overlying office.

The project will include a five-storey car park with a capacity for 1,228 parking spaces, and a footbridge linking the car park to the commercial building.

The two-storey grandstand will accommodate corporate sponsors and club members, hospitality and lounge areas, a members’ restaurant and private dining areas.

The Environment and Resources Authority says the project needs an environmental impact assessment with air quality studies on the increase in traffic, and also the visual impact of the project.

The project is proposed by Marsa Race Track Ltd, a company owned by F. Schembri Holdings and Ireland-based True to Type Limited. It includes individual shareholders, namely Irish national Alfred Kenneth Alexander Hill, Hugh Morsehead (also a director in Henley and Partners) from Jersey, British national Kusam Sharma and Maltese lawyer Pio M. Valletta.

According to the deed signed with the government, the annual ground rent to be paid by the operator for the land housing the racetrack will amount to €100,000.

A further €650,000 in ground rent will be due on the land on which a commercial complex is to be built, with €50,000 due in rent for a proposed 1,200-car parking facility.