New £100m “car-free” Brompton factory set for green light – despite bike brand’s profits collapsing by over 99%

Brompton’s plans for an ambitious new eco-friendly factory and headquarters in Kent – delayed by two years due to the ongoing economic challenges facing the cycling industry – are set to be given the green light by councillors, despite the folding bike brand reporting last week that its profits plummeted by over 99 per cent in 2024.

However, if as expected members of Ashford Borough Council give the go-ahead for the £10m facility next Wednesday, the planning application for the project will then be sent to housing secretary Angela Rayner for further approval, after the Environment Agency objected to the proposals, which it says pose a flood and loss of habitat risk.

In any case, the scheme – which has also faced criticism for lacking any car parking facilities on site – is already expected to be delayed by two years, after Brompton’s managing director Will Butler-Adams admitted last year that, even if planning permission was granted in early 2025, work on the factory wouldn’t begin right away, thanks to the financial turbulence continuing to affect both his company and the wider cycling industry.

> Brompton unveils plans for new eco-friendly factory and HQ in Kent as it aims to double capacity

In 2022, 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.

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.

On Thursday, Kent Online reported that the scheme is set to be finally given the go-ahead by planning members at Ashford Borough Council (ABC) next week, after officers recommended the approval of the £100 million project.

> “The bike industry will not get better this year”: Brompton profits nosedive by over 99% amid “really sad state of affairs”

However, while planning permission is expected to be granted on Wednesday, the plans still face an uncertain future, after Brompton last week revealed that its pre-tax profits had plunged from £10.7m in 2023 to just £4,602 for the year ending March 2024.

Responding to these figures, Butler-Adams said the fall in profits was due to Brompton simply selling fewer bikes than expected amid a “really sad state of affairs” for the global bike industry as it struggles to adapt in the wake of the post-pandemic boom.

“The industry is still in turmoil and will not get better this year. It will not be as bad as 2024 but there is still excess stock,” the managing director said.

Despite insisting that the folding bike brand was “over the worst of it”, Butler-Adams admitted in Brompton’s annual report that the company’s initial plans to move into its new Ashford headquarters were currently “on hold”.

This admission echoes Butler-Adam’s claim in July 2024 that the ongoing downturn in the cycling market meant that the project has been delayed by “about two years”.

“If we get planning permission in the next six months, we’re not immediately going to start building because the climate is too weak,” he said at the time.

Adding to the uncertainty surrounding the project, regardless of next week’s vote at Ashford Borough Council, are the objections raised by the Environment Agency, which argues the proposed factory and headquarters, set to be built on a 100-acre Zone 3b floodplain, poses a flood and loss of habitat risk.

Flood Zone 3b refers to land known as a functional floodplain, where water from rivers or the sea has to flow or be stored during a flood.

Brompton’s planned HQ would therefore be at high risk of flooding due to its position next to the East Stour river, but the bike brand says the factory’s innovative design – which will see it built on stilts – will ensure flooding is avoided.

Nevertheless, the Environment Agency’s objections mean that the planning application, once approved by ABC Council next week, will then be sent to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, who will decide whether the plans can be left in the hands of the local authority or considered by the government instead.

> New “car-free” Brompton factory facing delays as traffic authority calls on bike brand to consider those with “no choice but to drive”

Meanwhile, along with these flood-based concerns, the active travel-centred nature of the £100m scheme has also proved a catalyst for a series of delays to the project.

Last February, we reported that National Highways advised Ashford Borough Council to delay making a decision on the scheme – the fourth time since January 2023 that the approval process was postponed due to the traffic authority’s objections – due to concerns about the project’s impact on the local road network and the lack of any car parking facilities at the site.

Chief among National Highways’ concerns was 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 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 later acknowledged Brompton’s willingness to put these contingency plans in place, but said, however, that “this matter will have a bearing on trip generation, since if employees can drive and can park, many may do so”.

In 2022, when the project was first announced, 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.”