Bicester Motion Masterplan

Bicester Motion is building on the success of its regeneration of the former RAF site to create an established business community to create a connected destination for the future of mobility.

We translated this ambition into a flexible masterplan balancing commercial growth, new homes, public engagement, landscape and the heritage of a nationally important site.

A vision for a changing estate

Bicester Motion is home to more than 50 mobility businesses employing over 750 people. The vision is to expand this community while creating space for businesses to innovate, scale and manufacture, alongside opportunities for people to live, work and spend time on the estate.

Delivering multidisciplinary services, we developed the vision, masterplan and planning framework, creating a coordinated approach to the estate's long-term growth.

Balancing significant expansion with the site's heritage, ecology, landscape, transport and infrastructure constraints, the masterplan establishes the principles that will guide development. These include building locations, scale, height, access and design language, providing flexibility for different occupiers while ensuring a consistent identity across the estate.

Four connected areas, one mobility ecosystem

The masterplan brings together four distinct but connected character areas.

The Rushes is planned as a customer-facing destination where mobility and technology brands can demonstrate products, engage with visitors and showcase emerging technologies.

The Ranges will provide headquarters, research and development, engineering and advanced manufacturing space for businesses developing next-generation mobility technologies.

Motion Living will introduce around 200 low-rise, low-density apartments, including affordable housing, supporting a sustainable live-work community and a more active, year-round estate.

The New Technical Site is planned to provide space for scale-ups, innovators and research-led businesses to develop and commercialise new ideas within the Bicester Motion ecosystem.

Planning a unique site for future growth

The site includes heritage-sensitive areas, including former bomb storage and Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Ridge and the wider consultant team refined the planning strategy, dividing the masterplan into a series of smaller applications so each area could be assessed individually while maintaining its relationship with the wider vision.

Landscape and ecology were central to the approach, responding to existing site qualities and opportunities for biodiversity net gain. The planning framework establishes the basis for future detailed design and reserved matters.

Creating a platform for the next generation of mobility

By bringing together employment, innovation, accommodation, amenities and public-facing experiences, the masterplan provides a connected framework for Bicester Motion’s future. It will support businesses at different stages of growth while strengthening connections between innovation, community and public engagement.