EXPANSION PLANS at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas headquarters in Brackley have been given the green light by West Northamptonshire councillors.
The development is expected to create 500 new skilled jobs and attract millions of pounds in economic investment.
The site, on St James Road, is currently the headquarters for the Mercedes Formula One team and is where the cars are designed and constructed. Engineering work is carried out through the company’s Applied Science division, which carries out engineering design for external clients. These projects include the design of the next British Challenger for the Americas Cup.
Mercedes has plans to expand its operations on site which could include further diversification away from Formula One and increasing the workforce from 1,400 to 1,900 over the next five years. The company also aims to become net zero by 2030.
The plans for the site aim to create a parkland campus, removing much of the car parking that dominates the site and replacing it with trees and landscaping. Mercedes wants to remove the existing car park and replace it with a single-deck car park and a surface-level car park, as well as access to the Mercedes site from Lauda Drive and St James Road.
The refurbishment will also see a three-storey marketing centre and health and wellbeing hub complete with restaurant, gym, yoga space and other facilities for Mercedes employees.
Following extensive consultation with Brackley businesses, work will take place to mitigate the impact of traffic flow in the area by widening Oxford Road and lengthening the right turn lane into St James Road. Double yellow lines along the northern side of St James Road and around the turning head will be extended to mitigate unsafe parking and alterations to the Oxford Road/Lauda Drive roundabout will create an additional lane and improvements will be made to the cycle route along Oxford Road.
West Northamptonshire Council’s strategic planning committee gave the plans the go-ahead at its meeting on Tuesday (January 9).
Cllr Daniel Lister pictured right, cabinet member for economic development, town centre regeneration and growth at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “I am delighted that Mercedes has chosen to invest and expand its world-famous motorsport engineering in West Northamptonshire. These plans promise fantastic opportunities for economic growth and inward investment in Brackley and support our strive to be a leader in driving innovation while supporting business growth and building a strong, responsive and thriving local economy.”
The expansion plans are expected to cost around £70 million, creating additional construction jobs as well as the 500 anticipated at the expanded Mercedes facility, he added.
“This is an area of national significance in the high-tech innovation and high-performance engineering sectors,” Cllr Lister said. “Our Economic Growth & Inward Investment Team have been working closely with Mercedes to deliver impactful benefits to the local labour market, including local recruitment, school engagement and more.”