A business park developer has applied to the Planning Inspectorate wants certainty about its future plans
An artist’s impression of what the Thrive employment park would look like near Junction 9 of the M42 in Warwickshire (Image: IM Properties)
A developer looking to build a giant new employment park on the edge of Sutton Coldfield has lodged an appeal to try to force two councils to make a decision.
IM Properties is taking action ten months after it lodged planning applications to build a £363 million ‘Thrive’ employment park on the Birmingham/North Warwickshire border.
The site would be built near Curdworth, a village on the edge of Sutton, and – key for developers – close to Junction 9 of the M42.
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IM Properties has built a number of employment sites in the West Midlands, including the Peddimore site in Sutton, home to a huge Amazon centre, which neighbours the current application area.
It submitted a cross-boundary planning application in May last year to North Warwickshire Borough Council and Birmingham City Council But neither authority has decided on the application.
The business park would be located north of Curdworth and south of Wishaw and The Belfry, on what is currently Green Belt land – with an argument being made that is ‘grey belt’.
Grey belt land is land within the Green Belt, which had been previously developed – or land which, while in the Green belt, did not satisfy enough of its ‘purposes’.
IM Properties said it was looking some ‘certainty’ for businesses looking to invest in the region – with the site said to potentially provide up to 6,000 jobs.
It has now appealed to the Planning Inspectorate to ‘speed up the process’ for a decision to be made.
Concerns were been raised by residents over the scale of the park – which would be some 124 hectares – or around the size of 150 football pitches. They too want certainty – but for the opposite reason, for it to go away.
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Matthew Fox, planning director at IM Properties said: “We have taken the decision to lodge an appeal to speed up the process to determine our application.
“This is because our proposals will deliver significant benefits for Warwickshire and the West Midlands and need to be considered thoroughly by the Government, especially in the light of revised national planning policy and the lack of local policy to properly assess large employment projects like Thrive.
“Businesses are ready to invest and bring jobs here now -not in several years’ time.
“Against a challenging global economic and geopolitical backdrop, the West Midlands needs a new strategic employment site to support domestic high quality advanced manufacturing, R&D and logistics.
“Any further delay could see investment redirected elsewhere, and those prospects may not return.“Local planning authorities face ongoing resource challenges and are adapting to government planning reforms, but it is vital we facilitate large-scale, cross-boundary schemes like Thrive to meet urgent regional needs.”
IM Properties believes an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate is the ‘most appropriate process to properly assess the wider regional merits of Thrive and the fastest route to a decision that would help unlock inclusive growth in North Warwickshire and the wider region’.
It said Thrive would provide ‘dedicated space for entrepreneurial, high technology start-up businesses, leading advanced manufacturers and high value logistics companies, all within a landscaped parkland setting’.
It continued: “The proposed site layout includes high quality buildings designed to align with IM Properties’ Sustainable Futures strategy and its focus on People, Planet and Place.
“This approach has informed the application for building and landscape design, biodiversity, highways improvements, active travel and a commitment to social value.”
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To allay concerns of a ‘concrete jungle’ the firm said a network of accessible open spaces and lakes would feature community orchards and allotments, trim trails, play space and areas of reflection for use by site occupiers and the community alike.
There would be ‘central green corridor will lead to a mobility hub, offering eco-friendly transport options such as buses, bicycles, e-scooters, and smart EV (electric vehicle) charging stations’.
Other benefits mentioned by Thrive included skills, training, education initiatives and support for projects which could benefit communities surrounding the site throughout the delivery and operation of the development, with IM Properties establishing a framework within which future occupiers can also support local communities.
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But Curdworth residents raised concerns, describing the proposal as a ‘dreaded concrete jungle’ and asking ‘Does Green Belt mean nothing?’.
Sutton Walmley and Minworth city councillor, Ken Wood, previously raised traffic concerns, saying the network near Junction 9 of the M42 was ‘already at capacity’
Spoeaking to BirminghamLive a little over two years ago he said: “My main concern would be the traffic.
“We were already concerned about the volume of traffic from day one when Peddimore was pushed forward. We wanted two entries to that site, the A38 one and one to the east of Minworth to Kingsbury Road, to give traffic an alternative to going through Minworth.
“With this proposed development in Curdworth, we know Dunton Island is already at capacity at the moment. This will compound the problem. Residents are going to be really concerned, especially in Curdworth.”
