Orange moves another step closer to housing greyhounds development after Kennerson's closure

The contract outlining requirements to build the facility at Orange's old Highlands Paceway has been finalised, the Central Western Daily is reporting, and it may come before Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) representatives within days.

It comes about a month after Bathurst Regional Council assured that it was continuing "to hold discussions with GRNSW [Greyhound Racing NSW], and lobby for Bathurst as the home of the proposed greyhound racing centre of excellence.

"GRNSW is aware of council's position," council's director of environmental, planning and building services, Neil Southorn, said at the time.

Orange and Bathurst have been fighting for the facility ever since Kennerson Park was destroyed by Macquarie River flooding in November 2022, but it is Orange that appears to have won the battle.

The Central Western Daily has reported that the development at Orange was agreed to in principle last year but faced multiple legal and technical hurdles.

If the contract is agreed to and signed, a development application for the project at Orange will likely be lodged next.

Preliminary design plans for the "centre of excellence" at Orange included a restaurant, public all-weather sports fields, on-site function centre, mini golf, vet clinic, rehoming facilities, pet shop, and offices.

The estimated costs are about $15 million and the earliest timeline for completion is 2025.

The abandoned old trotters track off Bathurst Road was revealed as the preferred location in February last year.

"The priority will be the track itself and being the safest and best designed in the world. It will be built with the latest technology in regards to safety and welfare," then-CEO of GBOTA Allan Hilzinger told the Central Western Daily in March.

Concerns over the ethics of dog racing, the fairness of taking the track from Bathurst and the suitability of the trotting track - which has been previously earmarked for dirt bike riding - have been flagged.

"It's a dying industry, literally," former councillor Neil Jones has previously told the CWD.

"This talk of a 'centre of excellence' is nonsense. It'll be a 'centre of excellence' for gambling and animal suffering .... That's the reality of the industry. It's awful, and we shouldn't be part of it."

Member for Bathurst Paul Toole has expressed frustration with Bathurst Regional Council's lobbying efforts over the greyhounds facility a number of times.