Race organiser shrugs off picket

03 July 2015 - 02:24 By Nathi Olifant

Horseracing and betting giant Gold Circle is unfazed by a threat from a green lobby group to disrupt tomorrow's Vodacom Durban July. The Clairwood Racecourse Action Committee, whichfalls under the banner of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, plans to picket at the main entrance to Greyville Racecourse.It is protesting against the sale of the Clairwood racecourse three years ago and its transformation into a logistics park for port-related activities.A spokesman for the environmental alliance, Desmond D'Sa, said the sale of the "green lung" demonstrated the "pursuit of greed before people".They would picket at the July to "express our disappointment with and anger at Gold Circle, and to bring this issue to the attention of a broader audience."More than 50 000 people are expected at the annual fashion and horseracing event.But the greenies appear to be barking up the wrong tree by targeting Gold Circle.CEO Michel Nairac said: "We are aware of the protest. The right to picket is entirelya matter for the metro police and has nothing to do with Gold Circle."Explaining the decision to sell the historic 91-year-old racecourse, Nairac said that at the time of sale the property was zoned Open Green Space by the municipality. After purchase, Capital Property Fund had applied for the property to be rezoned, which was granted in due course."Gold Circle was never involved and had nothing to do with the rezoning of the property," said Nairac.But D'Sa said Gold Circle had a lot to answer for when it came to "our only green lung".He said the environmental alliance had learnt last month that the Department of Environmental Affairs had given Capital Property Fund the go-ahead to conduct its business.There were already 2000 trucks going in and out of the area, and it was a "disaster waiting to happen", D'Sa said...

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