Hope planning £2.5 million ‘R&D Velodrome’ on brownfield site

Whispers of a velodrome to be built ‘on the roof’ of a new R&D building at Hope Mill have been confirmed, with the firm having met with Pendle council planners this week.

The ambitious plan is estimated to cost in the region of £2.5 million to construct and will comprise of a ground floor research and development facility and a 200 metre Velodrome on the second tier.

Alan Weatherill told BikeBiz Today: "Happy to say the idea is true. We haven’t applied for planning yet, but the planners have been round and on the face of it, they can’t see any immediate issues. British Cycling has also recently visited and given their thumbs up to the idea.

"It will be a not for profit development, with the likelihood of a cafe in the centre and a place to hire bikes also found within. Our main goal is to benefit the Barnoldswick area and develop cycling locally with a great new training facility. It’ll also be handy to develop our road-going products."

Weatherill confirmed that the track itself will cost around £0.5 million to lay, roughly the same figure as the cost of the London 2012 games track, though will not feature any ringside seating, nor be used for competition.

"If approved by the planners, we’d be looking at having the site operational within the next two to three years. It’s likely that it will bring around 20 new jobs to the business, though this is perhaps a conservative estimate." added Weatherill.

It is believed the Velodrome would create further jobs at Hope, but would not be used for commercial benefit.