Plans to build the Thrive Park near J9 of the M42 will go to appeal. Credit: IM Properties

Investment warning as £343m Thrive park heads to appeal

25 March 2026 11:45 Mike Sheridan Comments (0)

Plans to build a 330-acre industrial and logistics park in North Warwickshire will now be decided by government planning inspectors, after developers behind the scheme launched an appeal over planning delays.

Plans for the £343m Thrive industrial park were submitted by IM Properties in May last year, intended to turn land between the M6 Toll and Junction 9 of the M42 into a “future-facing” 3m sq ft employment park, targetting the automotive, aerospace, rail manufacturing, low carbon and digital technologies sectors.

Now, developer patience for the amount of time taken to decide on the cross-boundary scheme has expired – with the application set to head to appeal over ten month delays from Birmingham City Council and North Warwickshire Borough Council.

Under current rules, applicants can request their submissions are decided by the Planning Inspectorate after a 13-week delay in determining the scheme.

Matthew Fox, planning director at IM Properties said a government decision on the proposals was now “the most appropriate process to properly assess the wider regional merits”.

“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,” he said.

“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.”