ONE of Oxfordshire's biggest employers plans to streamline its research and development centre to keep ahead in the Formula 1 racing world.

The Renault F1 operation, at Enstone, has won planning approval for a new semi-underground building at its Whiteways Technical Centre.

West Oxfordshire District Council's uplands planning sub-committee gave its blessing this month, and the firm has to decide if and when to go ahead.

It would bring 13 new jobs, to boost the workforce to close on 550 employees.

The aim of the new building is to bring the company's aerodynamic testing facility under one roof. Currently, it has two wind tunnels, one at Enstone and the other in Italy.

No new wind tunnel is being built. Instead, the new testing facility will be purely electronic, allowing for the modelling of cars and components in three-dimensional computer models, using software packages to simulate airflow.

Renault has been the world champion F1 team for the past two years.

Bradley Lord, senior press officer, said: "We are a local company successful on the world stage.

"This is simply an application to extend our facilities and stay ahead."

The new accommodation would be built into an existing earth mound on the western boundary of the site, containing an auditorium for presentations, reception area, and a hub room for the computer network.

There were no objections from Enstone Parish Council or the county council, as highways authority. The only objection came from one resident living in a cottage in the nearby hamlet of Radford, who said she was worried about how big the site was going to become.

Renault, for its part, points out that it has a car-sharing scheme for its employees, used by about 15 per cent of the staff.

It also has its own sewage pumping station, to prevent large tankers having to drive to the site to dispose of tank sewage.