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news
Brompton Ashford proposed factory (picture credit Hollaway Studios) 03.jpgNew “car-free” Brompton factory facing delays as traffic authority calls on bike brand to consider those with “no choice but to drive”
Folding bike brand Brompton’s plans for an ambitious new eco-friendly factory and headquarters in Kent are facing further delays after the highways authority raised concerns about the scheme’s impact on the local road network and the lack of any car parking facilities at the site.
Brompton first announced plans to move from its current factory in Greenford, west London, to a 100-acre floodplain in Ashford, where Ashford Borough Council aims to create a 60-acre public nature reserve including a community cycle path, in February 2022, before formally submitting its proposals to the local authority that December.
Initially scheduled to open in 2027, the proposed state-of-the-art factory and headquarters, which would double Brompton’s manufacturing capacity to 200,000 bikes a year and create up to 4,000 jobs, is focused on sustainability and active travel, and will include paths specifically designed for cyclists and pedestrians which will lead directly into the facility.
Under the travel plan drawn up for the site, no new parking spaces will be also created. Staff and visitors will instead be encouraged to cycle, walk, or use public transport to reach the factory, which will also have a visitors’ centre, museum, and café.
> Brompton unveils plans for new eco-friendly factory and HQ in Kent as it aims to double capacity
However, the active travel-centred nature of the £100m scheme now appears to have been the catalyst for a series of delays to the project.
Kent Online reports that National Highways has advised Ashford Borough Council to delay making a decision on the scheme – the fourth time since January 2023 that the approval process has been postponed due to National Highways’ objections – with the traffic body sending Brompton a list of concerns it wants to address before proceeding with its application.
In documents published in January, National Highways claimed that it had not heard from Brompton since July and “recommended that the application should not be granted permission until 10 June”, unless the folding bike company meets the body’s requirements and addresses its concerns in the interim period.
In a more recent document from last week, Christine Allen, regional director at National Highways, said: “We will be concerned with proposals that have the potential to impact on the safe and efficient operation of the strategic road network, in this case, particularly within the vicinity of the M20 and A2070 near Ashford.
“In carrying out our assessment, we are mindful of the highly innovative and sustainability seeking nature of the proposed development and the responses to date by KCC Highways on matters such as on-site and off-site parking.”
Chief among National Highways’ concerns is the requirement for a more detailed traffic and transport assessment to be carried out, especially in relation to Brompton’s desire to not include any car parking spaces at its site.
Assessments previously carried out by Kent County Council’s highways department suggested that the brand should consider alternative options for those staff and visitors who “have no choice but to drive”. This prompted Brompton to last year open discussions with HS1 Ltd, the owner of the multi-storey facility previously used by Eurostar passengers, and the nearby Ashford Designer Outlet to see if the company can share their car parks.
According to this plan, staff would be permitted to park their cars in the outlet’s south car park – located directly next door to Brompton’s proposed site – but on busy shopping days would instead be encouraged to park a mile away at the large multi-storey at Ashford International station, and walk or cycle the remaining distance to the factory.
National Highways has since acknowledged Brompton’s willingness to put these contingency plans in place, but says, however, that “this matter will have a bearing on trip generation, since if employees can drive and can park, many may do so”.
When contacted by road.cc, a spokesperson for Ashford Borough Council said that, as the authority responsible for approving or rejecting the plans, it “would not be appropriate” to comment on the status of Brompton’s planning application at the moment.
Brompton is yet to respond to road.cc’s request for comment, though we have been told that the company has now provided the necessary information requested by National Highways, addressing the traffic body’s objections.
In 2022, when the project was first announced, Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams said: “As we face climate change, combined with poor mental and physical health in our cities, where most of the world population live, we need to adapt.
“There has been a global realisation post-pandemic that we need to change how we live in our cities, to design them around the people that live in them, not the automobile. Brompton has a large part to play in supporting that transition, but we need to have more space to innovate and create the products of the future.
“London was the inspiration for the Brompton and our success is in large part is due to our diverse and skilled staff who continue to nurture and develop our company. By choosing Ashford we can retain this strong connection to London and the UK, whilst being on the doorstep of Europe.
“We have a long journey ahead with the planning and development of the new site, but we’re thankful for the support of Ashford Borough Council, Hollaway Studios, and Quinn Estates towards achieving our combined ambition to build this revolutionary and sustainable bicycle factory of the future.”
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
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72 comments
Indeed local college built a new halls of residence, we objected on the grounds of insufficient parking and likely nuisance parking. their response "students will not be allowed to bring cars" End result student cars parked on my road and don't move for sometimes two weeks at a time. Obviosuly no way for the college to police the bringing of cars and storing off campus.
One assumes that the Highways authority has resolved all the issues of poor road maintenance and bad driving that make it unsafe for those who have no choice but to cycle?
Do you know the area? Its already overcrowded and nearly all roads are underfunded and poorly maintained.
This is about 4000 people going to work and in the autumn and winter cold, wet and it can be very windy around Ashford and Romney Marsh.
The highways agency is right to query this as its on a flood plain and car parking will be required
I wonder have you ever worked shifts? Then had to cycle miles home after a 06-14, 14-22 or 22-06?
This needs proper planning not pipe dreams of architects and designers.
It has to practical!
I don't know the area but lots of places are overcrowded with poorly maintrained roads,that was my point.
My first employer provided buses for workers from local stations etc. as most people didn't have a car in those days, if the conditions aren't suitable for cycling or walking there are other ways that don't involve 4000 cars with one person in each.
What happens to all the cars when the flood plain floods, at least bikes can be cheaply repaired if damaged by flood water. When I did work shifts (not for very long I admit) I enjoyed riding to and from work when there was little traffic about rather than fighting it out with cars in the rush hour.
I'm quite happy driving round in my car too but things are going to have to change.
Agree - but given the highways / planning authority is set up to expect cars just saying "there won't be many, honest" probably does not compute.
Perhaps a useful comparison would be to what would happen if you built a large office block (4000 people...) in the centre of a town? Thinking back to some of the large offices / sites (newer ones) that myself / friends have worked for I recall they had parking but not necessarily for all (I remember the moans). IIRC that was either a limited number of places on a first-come first-served basis or peons like us didn't get to have access).
Wonder what exactly the planners would require as a minimum e.g. enough just to cover likely disability access and a few visitors, or what? Do we mandate large car parks for e.g. schools?
I don't think it's unreasonable to say "we're adding minimal parking because the site is well-served by being connected by buses and railways. And - y'know - being within a couple of miles of a hundred thousand people". I'm probably wrong here for the UK though and the system may effectively require a large parking allocation "because people will have to drive and otherwise they'll just park all over the place".
Providing convenient parking will of course guarantee those roads the authorities are responsible for will get more traffic, at least twice a day...
We do need (gently... gradually...) discourage driving if we want to fix any of the current crop of woes (congestion, emissions and pollution, running out of money for fixing the existing roads, no-one uses buses or trains, we're all sitting too much and no-one likes to walk or cycle because motor traffic etc....) Especially where you can just get the train / bus / cycle or walk.
In places where people cycle they build cycle parking for customers / visitors and employees. Including by factories / warehouses. Not everyone will cycle to work, and not everyone will live within a walkable / cyclable distance. But many will use e.g. a train and a bike for the last mile or so (given adequate cycle parking or even an integrated cycle hire / public transport system!)
Anyway as wiser folks have suggested there seem to be issues on both sides here, or more details to this that haven't been reported.
TL-DR; - "since if employees can drive and can park, many may do so"
THE WHOLE F'ING PROBLEM
I struggle to see the coherent point the moaners are trying to make.
Seems a bit bizarre unless there is missing context.
Not having disabled parking spaces sounds like a red flag and probably a breach of descrimination law.
Whats the rail frequency - anything more than half hourly at rush hour is problematic. Are Brompton running staff buses?
It doesnt add up or its extremely bloody minded.
There's 30 disabled spaces.
30 spaces for a staff numbering 4000, Then visitors ?
Seems a minor quibble. Presumably there is a formula to estimate this.
yes thanks. Just found this.
https://x.com/shamrocksoup/status/1755512152125776307?s=46&t=4N9mCgXIJQi...
As Sir Winston famously said, this is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put!
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