Setting up a Go-Kart Circuit

[Davel]

Help please.

I've got a suitable site with buildings already, which we use for warehousing currently but with more leisure facilities being made available to folk in the area, I'm just wondering if now might be the right time to build a commercial Go-Kart circuit on our site just on the outskirts of Widnes.

I know that there are other circuits in Warrington, Ellesmere Port and the major cities but are there consultants out there who can predict likely viability and come up with a design to make any new circuit a crowd puller?

If we were to go down this route, I would want to do it properly.

[Davel]

That really all makes very interesting reading so thank you for your views and advice.

We are just on the outskirts of Widnes and it is an industrial area, so noise should not be an issue, although I do need to consider my other tenants.

The shed which I have in mind is about 30,000 sq.ft. It's an old aircraft hangar single span unit 122 x 240 ft and an eaves height of 29 ft, so there is room to put in both a mezzanine viewing / catering platform and a raised section of the track.

Showers and toilets are not an issue either.

I've got a great accountant who can help me on this.

Thanks again for your comments / advice.

The Apex website raises another question really.

Might it be an idea to have both an indoor circuit and and outside off road one or do you think folk would like an interior buggy type track instead of the regular Kart track?

A buggy track would be different but would it be as popular as Karts?

Edited by Davel on Wednesday 18th July 13:39

[Davel]

I'm sure it would need Planning or Change of Use etc and, if we go further on this, we'd talk to the Council first anyway.

My only concerns are viability and insurance, bearing in mind the current claims culture for stupid little incidents etc.

If we were to do this, I would want it to be a great little venue.

Thanks again all!

[Davel]

Well, it went off the boil for a while but it looks like we may be looking at this again in the Widnes area.

Will keep you posted...

[Davel]

Could be done here.

30,000 sq.ft covered warehouse (single span) with about 18,000 sq.ft of concrete apron at the rear.

Thanks for your advice so far and to the guy who emailed me offering help - it is appreciated.

Edited by Davel on Wednesday 21st January 10:32

[Davel]

Well we have progressed this as far as we can, for our existing site, where we had the perfect building.

We seemed to satisfy all of the issues raised by a pre-app to the local Council, except the one where they were not prepared to change the use of the building to leisure, when the rest of the site is industrial.

Owning an existing building would have helped greatly but we are now considering housing it somewhere else.

Electric Karts are an option but unlikely at present.

Cheers All!

[Davel]

Not me sadly.

I wanted to do this within my own site ideally rather than elsewhere and so I'm no longer involved in the project.

I wanted to be there most of the time if I was investing heavily and would not have been able to with my other commitments