BCA has entered into consultation with staff over business restructure plans that involve the closure of its vehicle preparation centre closure at Upper Heyford.

The Constellation Automotive-owned remarketing giant is understood to be planning to close the Oxfordshire site at the end of March as part of a move which will see services from the facility moved to Corby – almost 60 miles away.

Around 270 jobs are believed to be at risk as a result of the planned closure.

In a statement issued to AM, BCA said that the relocation of the Fleet Services operations and customer base from Upper Heyford to BCA Corby Baird Road had come about “due to the end of a leasing arrangement”. 

It said that the Corby facility, currently a retail preparation operation, would be “repurposed to deliver the services required”, adding: “There are no proposed changes to any of BCA’s other existing Corby locations.”

News of the consultation related to BCA’s Upper Heyford facility comes six months after it emerged that the business was consulting staff at its Derby, Peterborough and Sandwich facilities ahead of a planned restructure following a review of the “scale and capability” of its UK operations, however.

At the time BCA would not confirm whether the sites were destined to close and insisted it would continue to invest heavily in the scale and diversification of its physical estate.

In its latest statement issued to AM, BCA said: “BCA continues to evolve its operating model in line with the changing external environment and needs of our customers to ensure we continue to provide market leading service and support. 

“BCA continues to invest heavily in the scale and diversification of our physical estate, developing facilities and building further capability in areas such as cosmetic and mechanical enhancement as well as building remarketing capability across our Vehicle Preparation centres. 

“Until consultation with our people has concluded, BCA is unable to comment further at this time.”