Nottinghamshire racecourse to fully reopen after flooding

A flood-hit racecourse will open at full capacity for the first time following a multi-million pound upgrade.

Southwell Racecourse in Nottinghamshire will host its first race on Friday after extensive repairs following Storm Babet last October.

The facility reopened in February but with limited seating, allowing 100 people to come and enjoy the horse racing.

Chief executive Mark Clayton said there was “a modicum of trepidation and hope” that the new facilities would operate as planned.

He added that when Storm Babet hit, the lower floors of the facility were underwater to a depth of 0.91 m.

“When we arrived after the flood, we were shocked,” he said.

“The sight of the place in such a state was awful – there was dirty water everywhere and it stinked.

“It took us until the end of the year to clean and dry everything.”

Racing at Southwell was suspended until the racecourse reopened five weeks later, with changing facilities for jockeys and judges restricted to a temporary tent in the winners’ paddock.

“The tent had changing rooms, showers and a canteen,” Mr Clayton said.

“People worked on this for 47 meetings over the winter, in 40-mph winds and freezing temperatures.

“We were losing power, water and internet regularly, so we had a lot of challenges.”

As part of the renovation, the executive boxes were removed to open a new owner’s suite overlooking the finish line.

There is space for jockeys and judges to train, eat and relax before and after meetings, while the ground floor of the main grandstand houses new bars and catering facilities.

Mr Clayton said the storm had given the site “a chance for a bit of change and a bit of variety in some areas”.

“There will be a great relief when it is all over,” he said.

“We are a racing machine here and one of the busiest in the country in terms of the number of meetings, but there will be some trepidation and hope that these new facilities will work.”