A developer who wants to build a major new jobs park on the edge of Sutton Coldfield has lodged an appeal to try to force the two councils to make a decision.
IM Properties is taking action ten months after submitting planning applications to build the £363 million ‘Thrive’ job 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 job sites in the West Midlands, including the Peddimore site in Sutton, home to Amazon’s largest facility, which is close to the site of the current application.
It submitted a planning application for the crossing in May last year to North Warwickshire Borough Council and Birmingham City Council But neither authority has made a decision on the application.
The business park will be north of Curdworth and south of Wishaw and The Belfry, in what is currently a Green Belt area – it is being argued that it is the ‘blue belt’.
A blue belt country is a country within the Green Belt, which was previously developed – or a country which, while still a Green belt, did not satisfy its ‘plan’.
A blueprint for the proposed ‘Employment Campus’ near Curdworth shows the majority of the planned development is in the vicinity of the Peddimore development and its new Amazon fulfillment centre.
IM Properties says it is looking ‘real’ for businesses to invest in the area – and the area is said to provide up to 6,000 jobs.
It has now appealed to the Ministry of Planning to ‘expedite the process’ so that a decision can be made.
Concerns were raised by residents about the size of the park – about 124 hectares – or the size of 150 football fields. They also want certainty – but for a different reason, that it should go away.
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Matthew Fox, planning director at IM Properties said: “We have decided to appeal to speed up the process of getting our application.
“This is because our proposals will deliver significant benefits for Warwickshire and the West Midlands and they need to be fully considered by the Government, particularly in light of the revised national planning policy and the lack of a local plan to properly assess large scale projects such as Thrive.
“Businesses are willing to invest and bring jobs here now – not in a few years.
“In the face of challenging global economic and global political conditions, the West Midlands needs a new employment strategy to support high-quality local manufacturing, R&D and logistics.
“A further delay could cause investment to be diverted elsewhere, and those prospects may not return.”
What Thrive’s central route would look like if the recruitment site was in North Warwickshire, between the villages of Curdworth, Over Green and Wishaw near Junction 9 of the M42.
IM Properties believes that an appeal to Planning Inspectors is “the most appropriate process to assess the wider value of the Thrive area and the quickest way to make a decision that can help unlock inclusive growth in North Warwickshire and the wider region”.
It said Thrive would provide ‘dedicated space for corporates, high-tech start-ups, high-tech manufacturers and high-quality goods companies, all within a landscaped park’.
It continued: “The proposed development of the property 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 building application and landscape design, biodiversity, highway development, active travel and community value commitments.”
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Allaying fears of a ‘concrete jungle’ the firm said the network of open spaces and lakes would include community gardens and allotments, mowing paths, playgrounds and exhibition spaces for use by residents and the public alike.
There will be a ‘central green corridor that will lead to a mobility area, offering environmentally friendly transport options such as buses, bicycles, e-scooters, and smart EV (electricity) charging stations’.
Other benefits cited by Thrive included skills, training, educational initiatives and support for projects that can benefit the community around the area throughout the delivery and development process, and IM Properties creates a plan for future residents to support the local community.
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But Curdworth residents have raised concerns, describing the proposal as a ‘horrible concrete jungle’ and asking ‘Does the Green Belt mean nothing?’.
Sutton Walmley and Minworth town councillor, Ken Wood, have previously raised traffic concerns, saying the network around Junction 9 of the M42 is already working.
Speaking to BirminghamLive just over two years ago he said: “My main concern would be traffic.
“We’ve been concerned about traffic volume since day one when Peddimore was pushed forward.
“With this proposed development in Curdworth, we know that Dunton Island is already active. This will make the problem worse. Residents will be very worried, especially in Curdworth.”
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