A NEW sign at the now silent Honda plant in South Marston is raising questions.

The road into the car factory which saw production end in July has a new board – advertising engineering company Beck & Pollitzer.

The company, which is based in Dartford in Kent, has not responded to call and emails requesting information about what it is doing there – but it seems likely that as an engineering installation and relocation specialist it is removing the car company’s equipment.

When Honda finished production at the factory in the summer it said there would be decommissioning work lasting for up to a year.

The site has been bought by industrial developer Panattoni.

The company’s £700m investment – the biggest it has ever made in Europe – is likely to see more buildings on the complex, which was always said to be under-used during Honda’s tenure.

No formal plans have been submitted, but Panattoni has put in an environmental impact screening opinion request for a possible development of industrial and warehousing and logistics buildings totalling 672,000 square metres.

A glossy brochure put out by the company says the existing buildings on the old South Marston airfield will have to be knocked down and replaced by a range of high-tech factory and warehouse units. The move is designed to attract companies to Swindon from across the south west, where such facilities are in short supply.