Mercedes accused of being 'grossly disrespectful' with £70m campus expansion

Mercedes has been accused of being "grossly disrespectful" to localbusinesses with their planned Brackley Formula 1 campus expansion.Residents are "up in arms" about the plans due to the high levelsof traffic is could bring into the area, according to localnewspaper Northampton Chronicle and Echo . The team plans to builda Silicon Valley-style campus as part of a £70 million investment ,including marketing buildings, leisure facilities, and restaurantsin a bid to improve the working environment within the team. Themain issues have stemmed from the impact it could have on St JamesRoad, which is next to 'Lauda Drive' - named after former F1 WorldChampion and Mercedes consultant Niki Lauda - which leads to theMercedes factory. Used by staff to access the front of the factory,residents fear that it could lead to an influx of cars funnellingthrough the area from 57 to 528 in the morning and from 50 to 287in the evening. Residents unhappy One of the local residents thatoperates a warehouse on the road, Przemyslaw Polak of an Americancar part specialist, believes the plans will make his business"inaccessible" during peak hours. Simon Wheeler of CanonburyProducts Ltd, said that local businesses were not made aware of theplans and take issue with the ramifications it could have on theirsuppliers. “Everyone is up in arms about the idea of this happeningbecause at the moment we all have fairly unfettered access intothis premises which means we have no issues getting staff orcommercial vehicles in,” said Wheeler. “If you’ve got severalhundred cars first thing in the morning and last thing at nighttrying to enter and exit the site it’s going to cause absolutepandemonium. Our customers, our suppliers, or our employees all ofa sudden could be having to leave home earlier to avoid gettingcaught up in everyone else’s traffic. “There’s no interest inlooking after the smaller businesses – it’s a case of we’reMercedes, we’ll do what we want and you just have to get on withit. That’s just grossly disrespectful for businesses that have beenhere for a similar length of time as them.” Mercedes respondMercedes responded to the allegations made to the Chronicle,explaining that all planning procedures were followed. Thespokesperson said: “During the planning application process, wehave gone through all appropriate channels including consultationwith the Planning Department, which includes a period of publicconsultation. “In addition, we have had lengthy consultation withboth the Local Highways Department and the National Highways Agencywho have audited and verified our independent traffic surveys. Wehave also consulted with local Emergency Services and agreed a planof road enhancements to ensure easy egress if required in anemergency from St James Road. “The concerns raised by thespecialist highways consultant employed by one of the localbusinesses have been reviewed to ensure that the proposed workshave the least possible impact on the business. This approach hasbeen agreed with the local Highways team. “In addition to this wewill be enhancing the local footpaths and cycle paths around oursite entrance, adding a new pedestrian crossing to the Oxford Roadand undertaking works to the roads to aid traffic flows. “As amajor employer in Brackley, we always endeavour to maintain goodrelations and dialogue with our stakeholders and to maximise ourpositive impact in the local area. We will continue to do so as weprogress through this process.”