concept & design
Swindon Motorsports was created with one overarching vision: to operate a multi motorsport hub within a 45-minute drive time of central Swindon.
Our mission is to locate, acquire, obtain planning permission, develop and operate a show ground including a speedway and kart racing with an expandable capacity of up to 5,000 spectators.
Technical considerations
Design - EF Design
The proposals have been designed to combine functionality, safety, and entertainment, with high quality landscaping, the use of eco-friendly materials, and a combination of modern and historic designs. This will ensure high standards of comfort and convenience for visitors. The site has also been designed to incorporate sustainability throughout, with solar panels on roofs, high performance insultation, rainwater harvesting, and the use of reclaimed materials.
Noise - Saunders Clarke
The Studley Grange site is a more suitable location for speedway racing than the Abbey Stadium, which is surrounded by residential development. Noise mitigation and management will be incorporated into the design from the outset. The new site has some residential neighbours whose amenity will be protected by using ancillary buildings and the topography of the site to control noise emissions using best practice experience from the motorsports industry.
Transport and Travel - Calibro Transport Consultants
The proposed access to the site will be via the existing highway network from the T-junction that connects onto the B4005 opposite Hay Lane. This route was historically used by larger landfill vehicles and does not have any outstanding safety issues. The operation of the site would have a minimal impact on the highways network, with movements in the day relatively modest in scale and larger events typically taking place outside the busiest traffic periods. The facility has been designed to provide on-site parking for the busiest events of the year and would be unlikely to result in an unacceptable impact on the highways network.
We anticipate producing a formal Transport Assessment, Travel Plan and Event Management Plan in dialogue with Wiltshire Council and National Highways.
Biodiversity & Ecology - Ethos Environmental Planning
Initial ecological and habitat surveys have described the site as a mixture of woodland, grasslands, scrub, and urban. The proposals include a series of mitigation measures, including the siting of tracks to avoid the removal of woodland and other important habitats, and the use of soft and hard landscaping to manage and improve ecology and habitats. Additional surveys on protected species will also be undertaken. As with all motorsports events and facilities, safety is paramount. We will provide high levels of spectator and participant (professional and self-drive/ride) safety through the design of facilities.
Heritage - Ridgeway Heritage
The site includes a two-storey Grade-II listed building known as Studley Grange Farmhouse. The building is unoccupied, boarded up and displays evidence of structural deterioration, making it a Building at Risk. The proposals will conserve and restore the Farmhouse with the aim of refurbishing and reusing the building as office space.
Flooding and Drainage - Calibro Consultants
The site falls within Flood Zone 1 meaning a low probability of flooding. A Flood Risk Assessment will be submitted alongside the planning application to set out how sustainable urban drainage systems will be utilised to manage surface water runoff, which will be discharged into the nearby watercourse network. Consideration will also be given to the use of permeable paving, filter drains, and swales.