Landmark grandstand to receive contemporary makeover

Cottenham’s grandstand, a rare structure on a point-to-point racecourse, could become a state-of-the art contemporary house.

The Cambridgeshire track closed its doors in 2021 after landowner Michael Gingell announced that at 76 and after 56 years of staging meetings he was retiring. The final meeting had taken place in February 2020 little more than a month before the first Covid lockdown ended the season prematurely.

Now local development company Dakin Estates, specialists in new homes and the conversion and restoration of old buildings, has submitted a planning application to convert the grandstand to a two-storey house. The design retains the original shape of the stand, which was built in 1925 when Cottenham had ambitions to become a licensed racecourse.

An artist’s impression of the proposed house should planning permission be granted

That aim did not materialise, but the stand proved a popular vantage point from which to view point-to-point meetings at a venue which was noted for being flat and quick, and often staged the season’s opening fixture. Below the steppings of the stand were changing rooms and an area for the clerk of the scales and other officials.

Developer Nick Dakin said: “Far from being just a viewing platform, the grandstand had doors, windows, plumbing, drainage and electricity and, inside, a weighing-in room, jockeys’ changing rooms, offices for stewards and secretaries and toilets. On race days its interior was a hive of activity.

“The design of the proposed conversion will honour the grandstand’s previous use, retaining the same build form and reusing existing windows and doors. It is earnestly hoped the finished conversion will keep alive the memory of, and provide a fitting memorial to, the long tradition of racing at Cottenham.”