A planning application has been submitted for a new 75,000 sq ft factory on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham with all the signs pointing towards it being for supercar manufacturer, McLaren.
Rothbiz reported last month that a space is being readied on the UK's premier advanced manufacturing park for a multimillion pound Composites Technology Centre responsible for the development and manufacturing of advanced carbon fibre chassis for McLaren Automotive's supercars.
Drawn up for developer, Harworth Group plc by Barton Willmore and The Harris Partnership, the plans show images of a purpose-built facility for McLaren on a 1.98 hectare site off Whittle Way where Harworth is preparing for the next commercial development - AMPlify, a further 460,000 sq ft of prime space on the AMP.
The site has recently been engineered to form a number of flat plateaus and the proposed development includes the creation of a single 75,000 sq ft building for B1, B2 and B8 uses (including ancillary B1a Offices) along with associated access, parking, and servicing, landscaping and other infrastructure.
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Matching other buildings on the site in terms of design, the new facility "will provide a contemporary addition" to the AMP - already dubbed "the elite "Mayfair" address for advanced manufacturing."
The Composites Technology Centre will be responsible for the research and development of future Monocell and Monocage carbon fibre chassis for McLaren Automotive, as well as the manufacturing of the chassis itself. These carbon fibre "tubs" are now in their second generation and have recently been unveiled as the key feature of McLaren's new 720S.
The centre is set to create more than 200 jobs and will comprise approximately 150 production staff and 50 manufacturing support staff. Recruitment is already underway.
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Construction on the facility is due to start this year with the first pre-production chassis, built using trial manufacturing processes in the nearby Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, expected to be delivered to the McLaren Technology Centre in the second half of 2017. Full production at the facility will begin by 2020.
The site is within the Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone which means that businesses benefit from fast-track planning alongside business rate relief and enhanced capital allowances.
The plans state: "The proposals offer an exciting opportunity to the area that will further enhance the AMP and continue to assist in the economic development and regeneration of this area including the wider AMID."
The Sheffield-Rotherham Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) has the aim of developing Europe's largest research-led advanced manufacturing cluster where leading names like McLaren, Roll-Royce and Boeing, work alongside local innovators and research institutions.
The idea builds on the ethos of the AMP where the park and adjoining commercial developments at Waverley will create over 3,500 new jobs and add an estimated £300m in Gross Value Added to the local economy once fully developed.
The plans state: "The proposals offer an exciting opportunity to the area that will further enhance the AMP and continue to assist in the economic development and regeneration of this area including the wider AMID."
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