Last stand for Forbury Park landmark

Demolition of the 90-year-old stewards' stand at the Forbury Park Trotting Club in St Clair has begun.

Two diggers were used to pull down the roof yester-day and Steve Ross, of Nash and Ross Ltd, said the whole building should be gone within two or three weeks.

Ross said the bricks and concrete would be crushed and reused and the timber, which was not valuable enough to be recovered, would be sent to the company's landfill at Burnside.

The two-storey stand housed race day officials including stipendiary stewards, Judicial Control Authority staff, crash crew and media.

The rear of the building housed the club's offices and, out front, was the bird cage.

Club chief executive Ian Woodhouse said yesterday temporary accommodation had been set up at the park and for the last two meetings, horses were paraded in front of the main members' stand.

It was intended to build new office and race day facilities, possibly on the same site.

He believed many people would have "warm memories" of evenings spent in the old stand.

"There's always a bit of an emotional tug when something of that age and background goes but it is just the reality."