Oppose DA 464/2025(1) – Proposed Orange Greyhound Racing Track, 32 Perc Griffith Way, Orange

⏰ Submissions close 5pm Tuesday 3 February 2026

What is being proposed

A development application has been lodged to build a new greyhound racing track in Orange on public land.

If approved, this proposal would entrench greyhound racing infrastructure for the long term, expanding an industry that is in decline and under intense scrutiny for animal welfare failures, economic weakness and social harm.

The application is currently on public exhibition. This is the community’s opportunity to formally object.

• The application seeks approval for a major recreation facility comprising a greyhound racing track, race-day kennels for 112 greyhounds, a clubhouse with bar and function facilities, lighting infrastructure, car and trailer parking, demolition of existing structures and tree removal.
• The site is 32 Perc Griffith Way, Orange, a former harness racing facility.
• Race meetings are proposed weekly, with additional major events, and evening and night-time operation.
• Orange City Council is the landowner and has entered into an agreement to sell the land to the applicant, NSW Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association.

📄 View the Development Application here

Why your submission matters

Greyhounds cannot speak for themselves. Planning decisions determine whether new greyhound racing facilities are allowed to proceed.

When a development application is on public exhibition, councils are legally required to consider the planning issues raised in public submissions. This is one of the few formal opportunities the community has to speak up for greyhounds before new racing infrastructure is locked in.

Approving new tracks means more dogs bred, raced, injured and discarded. Once built, these facilities are difficult to undo, even as the industry continues to cause harm and fail to meet community expectations.

Even a short submission can make a difference for greyhounds.

How to make your submission

Submissions must be received by Orange City Council by 5pm Tuesday 3 February 2026.

You do not need to live in Orange to lodge a submission.

When submitting, make sure you include the development application number so your objection is correctly recorded.

Use this reference: DA 464/2025(1) – Proposed Orange Greyhound Racing Track, 32 Perc Griffith Way, Orange

Email: [email protected]

Post or hand deliver:
Orange City Council
135 Byng Street
Orange NSW 2800

Submissions may be seen by council staff, councillors, Western Planning Panel members, the applicant and the public.

Personal details and signatures are not published online. Please keep submissions respectful and focused on the proposal.

Points to Consider When Writing Your Submission

The points below outline key issues you may wish to raise in your submission.

- Public land should serve the public interest

Public land should be used for the benefit of the broader community, not sold for a gambling-fuelled racing industry that causes harm and delivers no demonstrated public benefit.

Council has publicly recognised the importance of expanding housing supply in Orange. Repurposing this site for greyhound racing undermines that stated objective and removes land that could otherwise contribute to addressing housing demand.

Council has identified this land in its Orange Local Housing Strategy (July 2022) as being intended for future residential use. Using the site for a greyhound racing facility would remove it from potential housing supply and work against Council’s stated goal of increasing housing availability, including affordable housing. 

The applicant has failed to show that this proposal is in the public interest.

- The proposal lacks planning merit

The planning proposal:

• Relies on assumptions

• Lacks substance

• It fails to adequately address risks, impacts and cumulative impacts, including noise, traffic, bushfire and emergency management risks.

• The development application does not clearly explain why this site is the most appropriate location for a major recreation facility, particularly when the land appears to have been identified for future housing and community use.

• The application does not demonstrate that the claimed economic or social benefits would outweigh the long-term loss of land that could otherwise contribute to housing supply and broader community needs.

• A major recreation facility is not a permitted use under the R1 or R5 zones identified for this land in Council’s housing strategy framework, raising serious concerns about consistency with orderly and sustainable land use planning.

- The applicant has failed to consult the community

The applicant has not meaningfully consulted with the community, including residents and groups who would be most affected by the proposal.

This lack of engagement is acknowledged in the applicant’s own development application documents. Effective community consultation is a fundamental part of responsible planning, particularly for developments with significant social and welfare impacts.

This lack of consultation is particularly concerning given the site’s identification for future residential use and the long-term implications of removing land from Council’s housing strategy.

- Greyhound racing harms and kills dogs

Community concern about animal welfare is a relevant social impact that Council must consider when assessing the acceptability of this proposal under section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous. There are no safe tracks.

The industry’s own data shows that in NSW alone:

• 60 greyhounds were killed racing in FY24–25

• More than 4,000 were injured

• 1,153 greyhound deaths were reported by owners and trainers

• 247 dogs were recorded as “unnamed” because they were not fast enough to race

High-cost facilities promoted as "safer" have still killed dogs.
The “Q” in Queensland cost $90 million and has killed 23 greyhounds.

- The proposal contradicts clear policy and global direction

Approving new greyhound racing infrastructure also contradicts broader government trends in NSW, where multiple tracks have closed and public land has been repurposed for community and housing outcomes, including the termination of the Wentworth Park lease.

Greyhound racing is being wound back or ended elsewhere:

• Tasmania has announced the end of greyhound racing

• Racing is under review in Western Australia and South Australia

• New Zealand is phasing out greyhound racing

• Scotland and Wales are actively considering prohibition

• There are only two greyhound tracks left in the United States

In NSW:

• The Wentworth Park lease was ended and the land returned for public use

• Dapto Dogs closed because racing did not align with long-term goals

• GRNSW has announced closures at Wagga, Broken Hill and Muswellbrook, adding to earlier closures at Coonamble, Kempsey, Moree, Potts Park, Tamworth, Wauchope and Young.

Submission example

Personalise this submission by adding your own concerns or experiences related to this proposal. Submissions written in your own words carry greater weight.

Subject: Objection to DA 464/2025(1) – Proposed Orange Greyhound Racing Track

I am writing to express my strong objection to Development Application DA 464/2025(1) for the proposed greyhound racing track at 32 Perc Griffith Way, Orange.

The proposed site is publicly owned land. Land held by council should be used to meet community needs, not allocated to a greyhound racing facility that causes harm and has not demonstrated public benefit.

The site has been identified in Council’s Orange Local Housing Strategy for future residential use, and approving this application would permanently remove land needed to meet housing and affordable housing demand in the region.

Greyhound racing harms and kills dogs. There are no safe tracks, and the industry has failed to reform. Tracks are closing across NSW and internationally, yet this proposal would move in the opposite direction by entrenching greyhound racing infrastructure for the long term.

The proposal also lacks planning merit. It relies on assumptions, does not adequately address risks and impacts, and fails to properly consider social impacts, including the impacts on greyhounds.

In conclusion, this application should be refused because:

• it uses public land in a way that does not serve the wider community

• it entrenches a gambling-based industry that harms animals, causes social harm, and no longer meets community expectations

• it lacks planning merit and fails to address key impacts

I urge you to consider these points and reject this application.

Tips for making your submission

Use your own words. Submissions written in your own voice carry more weight than copied text. You can keep it short.

You do not need to be an expert. You are not expected to reference reports or technical studies. Decision-makers must consider community concern, lived values, and ethical responsibility alongside technical assessments.

Keep it relevant to the proposal. 

⌛ Get your submission in before 5pm on Tuesday, 3 February 2026

Contact us if you need more help

If you need help writing or lodging your submission, contact us at:

📧 [email protected]

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