Welcome to CAVWAY

This website gives details of the proposed development at Oakley Airfield for the development & testing of Connected & Autonomous Vehicles. It is intended as both an aid for the local community but also to provide early information of our exciting plans for the CAVWAY site to potential future customers.

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The planning application with the ID 20/02090/APP has been approved by Buckinghamshire Council.

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We have developed this promotional video to better explain our plans for the CAVWAY proving ground.

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What is CAVWAY?

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CAVWAY is a test site for the automotive and mobility industries part-funded by the UK government to aid the development and testing of Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).

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It will be used by a variety of automotive & technology companies to test and verify their new ideas in particular related to the Grand Challenges described in the Government's Industrial Strategy policy paper.  CAVWAY may find itself being used to meet any or all of those challenges, for example, to improve the future of mobility or help with an ageing society as well as promoting clean growth through the reduction of energy consumption. The site may also be used to certify vehicles against new and emerging safety standards in related areas; for example lane-keeping or emergency braking regulations.

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There are six sites throughout the country, part-funded by the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, and each site emphasises different aspects of technology in different environments.

The site at Oakley is intended to provide a fully controlled environment concentrating on Highway Intersections. The six sites are collectively known as CAM TestBed UK and are managed by Zenzic. Together we help the UK automotive industry to compete in this rapidly changing world.

CAM TestBed UK also allows the UK to attract inward investment as a recognised centre for high technology skills and businesses.

Who is involved?

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The CAVWAY project was awarded to a consortium of two companies:

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IDIADA Automotive Technology Ltd

IDIADA is an automotive testing & certification company that was started at the University of Catalonia's Higher Engineering School over 40 years ago to support the local automotive industry. IDIADA now has the most comprehensive independent proving ground in Europe at their HQ in the south of Barcelona, and employs over 2600 people in 22 countries around the world.  IDIADA currently has 3 offices in the UK: Nuneaton, Cambridge & Warwick employing 50 people.

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IDIADA is proud to be part of the global organisation Applus+ with a strong ethical, social and environmental commitment.

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Prova Developments Ltd

Prova is a new company, owned and operated by Dave Walton, a successful businessman from Leicestershire. The company has been set up specifically to support the CAVWAY project. Until recently, Dave was the managing director and co-owner of C.Walton Ltd which owned and operated  the Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in South Leicestershire.

Bruntingthorpe covered a 670 acre site and was run as a successful, independent proving ground for the general automotive industry for nearly 40 years and for approximately 10 years by Peugeot before that. Prova's experience in setting up and operating a successful proving ground will therefore be invaluable with CAVWAY and the perfect complement to IDIADA.

Dave and the Bruntingthorpe site were also famous for the support given to get the infamous Avro Vulcan XH558 back to the sky in 2007.

What will happen to the airfield?

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We plan to add various roads on and around some of the existing runways as shown on the Google Earth image. These will create several configurations of two and three-lane highway junctions as well as an area where any specific road crossing can be re-created, complete with traffic lights or roundabouts.

CAVWAY will only use the eastern half of the airfield. The western half will not be affected at all. We will add a single storey office building and an equipment storage building near the current hangar building. We plan to use the existing Hangar entrance to the airfield and so there will be no changes at all to the local road network. In fact, very few (if any) of the changes will be visible outside the airfield.

Re-routing of bridleways

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• We plan to increase the total length of bridleways using the airfield from 3000m to 3800m.

• We plan to increase the number of bridleway access points from 3 to 5.

• We will add a bridleway access on to the airfield directly from Worminghall village.

• We will add gates to the bridleway at the CAVWAY entrance to ensure safety for all users.

• We will add a link in to “dead end” path WOR/6/4 in order to open up the local network further.

• We will add earth banking and fencing to maintain a safe distance for bridleway users.

• In the future, it will be possible to walk from Worminghall village to Wornal Park industrial estate avoiding the road completely.

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(UPDATED: 24th March 2021)

Please note that ahead of the forthcoming construction work on the Oakley Airfield for the new CAVWAY test tracks, a new bridle path network will be constructed on site. This work is planned to commence in late-March and we hope to have the new bridle paths available by early May. Both the existing paths and the new paths are shown on the image below.

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The existing approved paths shown in blue will be kept open until, and including, Bank Holiday Monday 5th April 2021, however due to the start of construction these paths will then be closed. From Tuesday 6th April, and to allow for some form of continuous access to the site for the public, the landowner has kindly agreed to allow walkers to use the paths shown in red. Please note that these are not normally permitted routes. It is hoped to have the new bridle paths available for the public to use in early May.

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Sign-posts and barriers will be erected to indicate available routes and security guards will also be on site to direct you to the available paths each day. In the meantime, and for your own safety, it is important to keep to the approved routes.

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FAQs

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How many people will there be using the site?

Initially 10-15 per day, growing to 50 in a few years. Maximum of 100 per day in 10 years.

How much traffic will be created during construction?

Most heavy construction traffic will arrive at start of build and leave when complete.  However there will be some large deliveries on odd days during this phase.

How much traffic in operation?

Likely to be minimal during the day. Normal morning/evening arrive/depart for most staff.

How noisy might it be?

The site will not generate any significant noise and will certainly not be noticeable above the M40 traffic. In the future, a lot of test vehicles will be hybrid or electric and are unlikely to be heard at all outside the airfield.

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When will it start?

Conversion of the site is due to start on March 2021 and due to open for business by September 2021.

What about the rest of the airfield?

There are no plans to make any changes to the rest of the airfield.

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Will there be any job opportunities?

It is highly likely there will be some opportunities as the site comes on stream.