Burswood racetrack plans could see thousands turned off living near area, report claims

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Opponents of the Cook government’s planned Burswood racetrack have ramped up their fight by funding their own probe into the economics of the $217.5 million project, which suggested it would turn thousands of people away from the area.

The Save Burswood Park Alliance Committee hired former state planner and current development assessment panel member John Syme to see how the project stacked up.

An artist impression of the Perth street circuit and amphitheatre on the Burswood peninsula.

In the report, Syme, who worked on the East Perth, Subiaco, Scarborough and Midland redevelopment areas, delivered a scathing assessment of the project, saying it would turn people away from nearby precincts in East Perth and on the peninsula.

He theorised that the 16,300 extra people anticipated by the WA Planning Committee to move to the area by 2036 may not do so because of the reduced liveability.

Syme said if, in a worst-case scenario, 12,000 fewer people moved to the area by 2036 because of the racetrack, it could cost the state $1.8 billion in additional costs by feeding urban sprawl to house those people elsewhere.

“It will not be possible to successfully manage the noise nuisance of the racetrack, reducing the liveability of a large area,” Syme’s report said.

“When not in use it leaves a legacy of large swathes of unused bitumen and compromised landscaping, working against the images and expectations of an ever greener, pleasant, welcoming environment promised in the Burswood Park 2045 plan.

“That plan promotes liveability and inner area population growth. The insertion of a racetrack does not.”

Syme predicted a medium-case scenario would see about 6000 people turned off the area, costing the state $900 million in urban sprawl costs.

The racetrack, which includes a 10,000-person amphitheatre project and will host an annual V8 Supercar race, was first promised by Premier Roger Cook in January ahead of the WA election.

The state government said the Adelaide 500 V8 Supercar street race, which injected $60 million into the South Australian economy annually, was a model that a Burswood event could take even further.

Syme said that event was cancelled in 2020 after years of declining attendance and was brought back in 2022 with millions in public funds to keep it afloat.

Syme also noted the lack of analysis or details from the government yet on whether the $217 million was value for money or what it was being spent on.

“It is most likely that a properly constructed business case would reveal a benefit-cost ratio much lower than one – i.e. that it is not economically viable, taking into account all of its impacts,” he wrote.

“The cost of the proposed racetrack to government directly and to the community generally is large and likely will far outweigh any ephemeral economic benefits.

“Its negative effects will be widespread and long-lasting, with direct local impacts and even extending to necessitating a significant increase in urban sprawl.”

Save Burswood Park Alliance co-convener Robin Harvey said the report confirmed the project should not go ahead and raised questions about the lack of proper process in pursuing the project.

“John Syme’s considerable experience and credibility in this specialised economic field should cause the Government to rethink its actions in starting work on the park before fully assessing the viability of the racetrack,” she said.

The Syme report is the latest headache for the Cook government after Federal Labor Perth MP Patrick Gorman went public with his opposition to the racetrack earlier this month.

The opposition and Greens have called on the state to release any business case or documents justifying the expenditure on the racetrack.

Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas has regularly drawn a link between spending on the racetrack and issues with WA’s health system, claiming the project was an example of the arrogance of the Cook government.

Cook continued to defend the project in parliament last week.

“As we have said, and as we campaigned during the election, this will also be the staging point for a marquee motorsport event each year, which hundreds of thousands of motorsport enthusiasts are really excited about,” he said.

“We know that this will be a project for all Western Australians and not just for Western Australians of one particular mindset. I think it will be really exciting.”

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