The construction phase of a new £300-plus million landmark extension to the Home of
Rolls-Royce at Goodwood has begun, with the pouring of the first concrete foundation pads on the site, adjacent to the marque’s existing manufacturing facility and global headquarters.
The inaugural pads have been installed on the northern elevation of the site, where the new Exterior Surface Centre (paint shop) will be located. Contractors will now work their way southwards, creating a network of around 650 pads that form the foundations upon which this new building will stand.
Goodwood is the only place in the world where Rolls-Royce motor cars are designed and hand-built. The marque is ever mindful of this unique status, and is deeply sensitive to the building’s location in the West Sussex countryside, near the South Downs National Park.
Chris Brownridge, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ chief executive, said: “Securing planning permission to extend the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood was the culmination of a detailed process of consultation and partnership with the local community and relevant agencies, authorities and advisors. I am delighted that, in less than 12 months, we have begun the construction phase with the installation of the first foundation pads. This is a highly significant and exciting moment; it means we are firmly on track to deliver this landmark project on schedule, enabling our future prosperity and immense economic contribution to the region and ‘UK PLC’.”
Largest ‘living roof’ in the UKOpened in 2003, the original site was specifically designed to blend into its surroundings. Together with its carefully considered blend of materials, and the largest ‘living roof’ in the UK, this renders it all but invisible from beyond its boundaries; the extension builds on this legacy. It has been meticulously designed to be sympathetic to the existing building and local landscape, while also reflecting advances in architecture, aesthetics, construction methods and approaches to the environment, conservation and biodiversity over the intervening 22 years.
Rolls-Royce applied for planning permission following an extensive consultation process involving local residents and relevant authorities, agencies, utilities and other stakeholders, supported by professional advisors and consultants. Since permission was granted by Chichester District Council in March 2024, progress on the project has been rapid. The extensive groundworks required, including the landscaped bunds designed to screen the site from view, are well advanced. There have also been comprehensive upgrades to local footpaths, with planned planting contributing to a projected 12% biodiversity net-gain.
As well as housing the new Surface Finish Centre, the 40,000m
2 extension will create much-needed capacity for the marque’s rapidly expanding bespoke activities. These reached record levels in 2024, driven by the substantial growth in client requests for more technically complex, authentically challenging and highly individualised Bespoke commissions, which reach their apex in coachbuild projects. This growth is itself a direct result of the marque’s continued investment in its global network of private offices, which has expanded from the original at Goodwood to international luxury centres including Dubai, Shanghai, New York and Seoul.
The extension project represents the single largest investment in the Home of Rolls-Royce since the facility opened in 2003. In that time, Rolls-Royce has become a great British manufacturing success story, with over 2,500 people employed on site and supporting a further 7,500 jobs in the wider supply chain. An independent study by the London School of Economics (LSE) showed the company has added a total of more than £4 billion to the UK economy, and currently makes an annual contribution in excess of £500 million.