Go-karting centre wants illuminated sign in Bicester

Team Sport, which has 40 e-karting centres across the UK, already has approved plans for a new £2m indoor electric go-karting centre at Bicester Motion.

The proposed 500m two-level track sits within a former aircraft hangar in the RAF Bicester Conservation Area.

Elevation of Team Sport signage detail (Image: Team Sport)

Now, it wants to install a three metre LED-illuminated sign, comprising of a stainless steel painted back tray with opal acyclic graphics.

This will be switched off outside of opening hours to ensure limited impact during evening periods.

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The application, submitted to Cherwell District Council, also includes plans for two almost four-metre semi-transparent vinyl stickers on the glazing wall and entrance door, and a hand-painted ‘137’, the historic hangar number on the south-west and north-east elevations in RAF blue-grey paint.

Savills, agent acting on behalf of Team Sport, said: “The proposed advertisements and hand-painted building numbers are appropriately located, scaled and designed; preserve the special architectural and historic interest of the Grade II Listed Building; enhance legibility and support the approved use; and comply with national and local planning and heritage policy.”

Comments are open on the planning authorities website until Friday, May 29 and it expects to make a decision by Friday, June 19.

Plans were approved in January by Cherwell District Council for the 31,000 sq ft site in Bicester run by Team Sport.

Hangar 137, which was originally built as an aircraft shed for the RAF between the First and Second World Wars, has been overhauled in time for the site’s centenary.

The project forms part of Bicester Motion’s environmental, social and governance plans, which focus on turning historic buildings into businesses that can provide long‑term economic benefits for the area.

Bicester Motion’s story began in 2013 with the purchase of the former WW2 RAF Bicester Bomber Training Station, a 444-acre site.

According to Bicester Motion, as much as 99 per cent of the buildings on the site have been restored or re-activated for modern business use, with the site now held as a national exemplar of constructive conservation by Historic England.

Daniel Geoghegan, chief executive officer at Bicester Motion, said earlier this year: “The practical completion of Hangar 137 in its centenary year is a significant achievement for the estate and a powerful example of what heritage regeneration can deliver.

“This 1926 Type A hangar was built at a defining moment in Britain’s aviation history.

“Our responsibility has been to protect that significance while ensuring the building can support a viable, modern commercial use.”

The former RAF base is home to more than 50 firms across the automotive, aviation, engineering and mobility industries.