Stephenson Harwood has won a key mandate advising on a new public private partnership behind a new £250m Welsh motor racing circuit.

The racetrack, which will be located in Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, South East Wales, is the largest capital investment programme in automotive infrastructure in the UK over the last 50 years.

The proposed development would be designed to host sporting events such as MotoGP, World Superbikes, World Motocross and the World Touring Car Championship.

Infrastructure partner Jonathan Cripps will be leading the team on the project, which will be delivered by the Heads of the Valleys Development Company. He will be flanked by projects and infrastructure partner Rebecca Carter and real estate partner Chris Seel.

Planning for the venue, which includes a 3.5 mile main track, kart and motocross tracks, a business park and two hotels, will begin in September. It is hoped that construction will begin next year, with the complex operational by 2015.

Cripps commented: "In many ways, the project brings together a variety of techniques used in PPP over the years to create a new hybrid model that will leverage investment and promote economic growth."

He added: "It's a fascinating project to be involved in, and unusual in the sense that the new infrastructure isn't being predominantly funded by the public sector as with conventional PFI projects, for example. Instead, this project is being driven and funded by the private sector, but with the public sector helping to facilitate its delivery. In that sense, it's very much a project of its time."

Earlier this year, the firm's projects team scored the leading role advising the North London Waste Authority on a £3bn waste-to-energy procurement project after a competitive tender, which also saw roles handed to Pinsent Masons, Nabarro and Ashurst.