Brooklands was designated as a Conservation Area in 1989 and is important for its historical links with motor racing and aviation. It encompasses the Brooklands former motor racing circuit and associated structures, now a Scheduled Monument, and a number of listed buildings. The purpose built motor racing circuit, opened in 1907, was the first of its kind in the world.
The council has been working in partnership with Brooklands Museum, Historic England, Surrey County Council and heritage consultants, Radley House Partnership, on a project funded by Historic England to produce a Conservation Management Plan for the Brooklands Aerodrome and Motor Racing Circuit. This document was endorsed by Planning Committee on 21 November 2017. To complement the Management Plan a Gazetteer and Timeline have also been produced. As part of this partnership project a Brooklands Owners Guide has been published to provide advice for owners and occupiers of the former motor racing circuit. For further details see:
A number of recommended actions within the Management Plan have already been implemented. These include:
- clearance of vegetation at the top of the Members Banking within Brooklands Museum
- clearance of vegetation from the edges of the Railway Straight to reveal its full extent, including where the Hennebique Bridge once connected to the Straight. Works have also been completed to stop "ponding” on an area of the Campbell Circuit within the Mercedes Benz site
- cork has been carried out by volunteers to clear trees, scrub and litter from the banked section behind Avro Way within the Industrial Park. See overgrown "before" and track revealed "after" photographs below
Further information with regards to the history of motoring and aviation at Brooklands can be viewed on the Brooklands Museum website.