CALLS for a cross-party group of councillors to be appointed to the board of Musselburgh Racecourse following recent controversy about its management were rejected by East Lothian Council’s minority Labour administration as it met to appoint future representatives.

Relations between staff at the racecourse and the management committee hit an all-time low last month when staff threatened industrial action after holding a vote of no confidence in then chairman Councillor John Caldwell.

Mr Caldwell lost his seat at the local government elections on May 4 and subsequently lost his position on the committee.

This week the council, which holds four of the seven seats on the management committee of the racecourse, met to confirm the new appointments, with council leader Councillor Willie Innes named new convenor and fellow Labour councillor Andy Forrest returning to the committee with new appointee Fiona O’Donnell (Lab). They will be joined on the committee by Musselburgh councillor and Conservative group member Katie Mackie.

However, a proposal from the SNP group leader Councillor Stuart Currie to have SNP councillor Kenny McLeod named as one of the four council representatives was rejected after the minority Labour administration voted by eight votes against the SNP councillors’ six.

None of the Conservative opposition group councillors voted on the amendment.

Mr Currie said he had written to Mr Innes suggesting that the four places on the committee should be taken by the elected Musselburgh ward councillors but that had been rejected.

He said he had then asked that Mr McLeod be nominated to create cross-party representation but did not receive a response.

Concern over the governance of the racecourse has led to a deep division between the council representatives on the committee and Lothian Racing Syndicate (LRS) members, who make up the other three seats. The British Horseracing Authority, which regulates the industry, has refused to issue Musselburgh with a full licence, putting its future at stake.

Staff passed a vote of no confidence in the chairman of the committee amid rows about wages and disciplinary proceedings.

And leading figures in the racing industry called on the council to leave the management of the racecourse to professionals.

Musselburgh Racecourse is run on a not-for-profit basis, with profits reinvested in infrastructure and improving facilities. It was saved from oblivion in the early 1990s and is now a five star VisitScotland tourist attraction; attendances have double in the last ten years.

John Prideaux, chairman of LRS, said: “We note the council appointees, extend a welcome to those who are new and hope that this might provide a platform for a more constructive dialogue between the two Musselburgh Joint Racing Commitee (MJRC) partners in future, for the good of the racecourse and racing at Musselburgh. We are due to meet with the leaders of each of the three political parties on the council in the next few days.

“Lothian Racing Syndicate remains firmly of the view that the best future governance model for the racecourse would see the involvement of a non-executive chairman independent of both the council and LRS, and we would like to see an independent review carried out into the MJRC governance model. However, we acknowledge that in the short-term the existing structure will remain in place. We hope that we can return to the more positive and collegiate working that existed under the chairmanships of Pat O’Brien and Sheena Richardson.”