MIRA expansion back to committee after approval quashed

Plans for a 145-acre extension of a Nuneaton automotive R&D facility will go back before councillors this week – two months after a decision to approve the scheme was quashed by judicial review.

ERI MTP’s proposals to extend the MIRA technology park on the A5 were approved by Hinckley and Bosworth council last year.

The 850-acre site is already home to Horiba MIRA and around 40 others, including Bosch, Toyota, Haldex and Polestar, who use around 70 miles of on-site test track for automotive research and occupy around 1.7m sq ft of industrial and office space.

Under the plans, the park would extend south of the main road into four agricultural fields, with around 2.3m sq ft of extra employment space earmarked for the site.

Work was due to be under way on the development, which straddles the border with North Warwickshire, after the plans were originally approved by planning committees at the two authorities in July last year.

But a third party objection to Hinkley and Bosworth’s decision to approve the scheme, mounted by Fenny Drayton-based Extra Room Self Storage, saw the decision over turned in May this year.

The judicial review hinged on a response by National Highways issued several months after the initial decision to approve the plans, which concerned measures to mitigate extra traffic created by the development.

Extra Room Self Storage argued that planned traffic proposals in support of the scheme, which include restricting right turns into Drayton Lane where the business is based, would create “unreasonable restrictions” on the firm due to the extra mileage involved for customers.

The plans have been recommended for approval once again ahead of a committee meeting this week. Credit: SDP

The National Highways response confirmed that an alternative proposal for traffic signalling on Drayton Lane put forward by ERSS was technically feasible, which was enough for the administrative court to overturn the approval.

Now, with the original decision quashed, the plan will go back before committee members for a second time, although a recommendation to approve the proposals remains.

“The recommendation and resolution from July 2025 was that, on balance, the benefits of the proposal outweighed any harm identified, with this based on the proposed left in, left out junction to Drayton Lane,” said the planning officer’s report, published ahead of a meeting set to be held this week.

“Whilst an alternative scheme has subsequently been considered to be technically feasible, further information is required to demonstrate that a signalised junction is deliverable, with this not provided by ERSS, and further off site mitigation works would also be required. It is also confirmed by National Highways that the left in, left out junction is acceptable.

“Taking all material planning considerations into account it is considered that the limited adverse impacts of the proposed development would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the NPPF when taken as a whole.”

Hinkley and Bosworth Borough Council will decide on the application on Tuesday, 30 June,

Documents and plans relating to the proposals can be found on Hinckley and Bosworth’s planning portal using reference: 22/00882/OUT