A planning application has been submitted to North Warwickshire Borough Council and Birmingham City Council for a £343m employment park in North Warwickshire by IM Properties.

The proposals for Thrive near Curdworth and Junction 9 of the M42 could create between 4,400 and 6,000 full time jobs on-site when the site is fully occupied.

Lewis Payne, development director at IM Properties, said: “Against a challenging global economic and geopolitical backdrop, the West Midlands needs a new employment site to support domestic high quality advanced manufacturing, R&D and logistics. This is vital to securing a resilient, diverse local economy, and at a time when opportunities for many people in Britain are limited, it’s also about ensuring we can create skilled jobs and deliver wider social value.

“Thrive is central to supporting the region’s industrial strategy and it can create significant new job opportunities across North Warwickshire, north east Birmingham and north Solihull.”

The proposals for the 135-hectare site will see buildings on site for start-up businesses, with the first industrial units in the UK designed to Passivhaus standard, an international energy performance standard for buildings.

Around half the site will be dedicated to green and blue infrastructure, a network of accessible open spaces and lakes will feature community orchards and allotments, trim trails, play space and areas of reflection for use by site occupiers and the community alike. A central green corridor will lead to a mobility hub, offering eco-friendly transport options such as buses, bicycles, e-scooters, and smart EV charging stations.