Bicester Motion reveals next phase of development
Oxfordshire-based Bicester Motion has revealed the next phase of its development: Bicester Motion Innovation.
The new knowledge economy area of the mobility-focused site will offer 230,000 square feet to businesses disrupting the mobility market, with the aim of accelerating future transport solutions.
It will look to emulate the community built at the Bicester Motion Heritage area of the former 444-acre RAF site, which after signing up its 50th business last year reached full capacity, creating around 350 jobs and apprenticeships in the area.
Around £3.7 billion per year is currently invested into automotive and mobility solutions, with connected and autonomous vehicles predicted to produce £62 billion in economic growth by 2030, while the UK battery market alone could be worth £9 billion by 2040.
The six new buildings planned for Bicester Motion Innovation, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025, will provide space for businesses in these sectors, with on-site test tracks and airfields as well as a number of green spaces for testing and employee welfare.
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The full site, which is expected to be completed by 2030, will also include Bicester Motion Wilderness – a wilderness reserve created from the regeneration of a former quarry and lakes at the northern edge of the site which will hist outdoor activities.
This will be delivered in two phases, with the northern lake edge a reserve and discovery trail where visitors can explore nature, and the southern lakes providing eco-lodge style accommodation for visitors, creating more overnight opportunities for Oxfordshire’s tourists, which currently number 32 million per year, spending £2.5bn and making 2.8m overnight trips.
In the future, visitors to Bicester Motion will also be able to enjoy the forthcoming Bicester Motion Experience, a further development with road routes, off-road courses and airfield access, for mobility businesses looking to showcase their products to potential customers.
Daniel Geoghegan, the Chief Executive of Bicester Motion, said: “Our vision is greater than Heritage, creating a place that doesn’t just nurture the classic car industry, but also helps build solid foundations for the future of mobility.
“Our 444-acre development is called Bicester Motion, because that’s what this site has always been about: motion in all its forms. What we’re creating here is a blank canvas in the centre of the UK where OEMs and mobility businesses can innovate and educate in a beautiful green space developed not just around work, but around leisure and tourism.”
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