Brands GP bid latest

The secretary of state for the environment, John Prescott, will decide the fate of Brands Hatch’s bid to stage the British Grand Prix in 2002, as final arbiter of Octagon Group’s application for planning permission to upgrade the 50-year-old venue.

Octagon cleared the penultimate hurdle last month when Sevenoaks & District Council voted in favour of approving the wholesale changes necessary to bring the Fawlcham facility up to the latest FIA standards for the race.

Subject to the governmental green light, major construction work could start in September. MP