MULTI-MILLION pound plans to turn Snetterton into a world-renowned racing and motorsport hub have been unveiled.

MULTI-MILLION pound plans to turn Snetterton into a world-renowned racing and motorsport hub have been unveiled.

Nearly 600 new jobs could be created in a £10m investment at the south Norfolk circuit under proposals for a new hotel, race school business park and track expansion, which would help kick start commerce along the A11 corridor.

County and district council leaders welcomed the ambitious plans, saying they would put Snetterton on the national and international racing map and add weight to a campaign to get the A11 fully dualled.

The “radical” redevelopment would give new life to the circuit and bring new racing teams, advanced engineering firms and professional drivers to Norfolk and boost the local economy by £1m a year, said owner Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MotorSport Vision (MSV).

The plans by the ex-Formula 1 driver will also see the extension of the two mile track to accommodate everything bar F1 cars - if approved by Breckland councillors.

Daniel Cox, leader of Norfolk County Council, said the proposals provided further evidence to the Government that the last remaining single carriageway stretch of the A11 between Fiveways and Thetford needed to be dualled as soon as possible.

William Nunn, leader of Breckland Council which has been working to promote the motorsport and advanced engineering sectors between Thetford and Hethel over the last 18 months as part of the Rural Enterprise Valley (REV) project, said the scheme would “bring the A11 corridor to life”.

Mr Palmer, whose company bought Snetterton in 2004 and owns four other UK tracks, submitted an application last week to turn 12.5ha of agricultural and brownfield land near the circuit into a Snetterton Business Park.

The long-awaited scheme has been in the pipeline for more than three years, but has only just been submitted to Breckland Council after track officials and environmental health officials struck a peace deal over noise issues. If approved this year, Mr Palmer hopes to complete the project in the next five years.