ONE of Britain's first new racecourses in 75 years could be built in Hampshire.

Retired Droxford publican Paul Mulle is director of Wessex Worldwide Leisure Ltd, a company set up to develop a new flagship racecourse called Solent Waters.

He's hoping it will be a case of second time lucky after a previous bid to transform the Daedalus site at Lee-on-the-Solent into an all-weather track and equine centre failed two years ago.

A spokesman for the British Horseracing Board - the body which allocates fixtures for race meetings - confirmed that some inquiries had been made.

However, no formal bid has been submitted and the location of the possible site is being kept a closely guarded secret.

Because Mr Mulle, 73, of Denmead, is so unhappy with the experience he had with the Daedalus site he is now looking at other options.

"It is still very much early days," he said. "Our proposal for Lee-on-the-Solent would have brought many economic benefits to the local community," he said.

"It would have really put the place on the map. It was very regrettable as we put in a huge amount of effort and brought about a very powerful consortium.

"We were all very disenchanted when the site was taken off the market in such an unexplained manner."

In July 2001 the Ministry of Defence took the former airbase off the market after Mr Mulle's consortium, operating under the banner Solent Racing, had spent a considerable amount of money drawing up plans for the 496-acre site.

The reason given by the MoD at the time was that it wanted to turn it into a core training centre.

Now the Home Office is considering it as a possible site to house 400 male asylum seekers in an accommodation centre.

A spokesman for Defence Estates, which manages the Daedalus site on behalf of the MoD said: "There are no plans by the MoD to sell off any of the land."

A finding by the Office of Fair Trading last week into the anti-competitive practices of the British Horseracing Board could make it easier for new horseracing tracks to be opened.