British electric race car research centre planned for Gloucestershire. Or it was...
One of the UK’s most exciting car marque’s, founded by a Gloucestershire billionaire, has had plans to build the UK's research and development centre for electric cars in the county refused.
Dear reader,
Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Raikes Journal.
Imagine being able to say ‘yes’ to investment into your county, something associated with future industries, with cutting edge technology, something that would excite young and old alike, have the potential to be world-leading and draw in more of the same – like a research and development centre for electric racing cars, the future of motor sport.
Imagine that, in a rural location like little old Gloucestershire, where engineering is already embedded but hope and aspiration are like everywhere else at the moment – in short supply!
Most of the UK’s current 32 dedicated automotive R&D centres are in Oxfordshire and the West Midland. None are in Gloucestershire.
Or you could just turn it down. Which is what Gloucestershire has done. The argument for the decision might sound rather counterintuitive, when it’s down in black and white, but you can read it below and make your own mind up.
We contacted McMurtry Automotive for its response, in particular to ask it if it will have another run at the planning process or take its investment elsewhere. It does rather look like it might be the latter.
What that will mean for the future of the firm here in the county, where it also has its headquarters, was our second question to the Wotton-under-Edge-based business.
Moving on, as we enter the holiday period and all seems to go quiet, it felt like a good time to look ahead so you can put some dates in the diary so you can stay in touch with what’s afoot. So we’ve done that below too.
Of note among those events for the many property investors, landlords and agents is a seminar up ahead by Willans LLP whose team of experts will explain the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, something that’s still causing considerable doubt and probably many headaches.
Have a great weekend.
Best regards,
Editor | 07956 926061 | LinkedIn: Andrew Merrell | andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk
Your briefing notes…
🏉🎉 Recruitment specialist i2i Recruitment and Gloucester Rugby have announced a new multi-year partnership. Cheltenham-based i2i Recruitment has become the Gallagher PREM club’s official recruitment partner, and will support its recruitment needs across permanent and casual positions at Kingsholm. It will also see i2i Recruitment’s branding around the stadium and become player sponsor of Gloucester Rugby and England U20 lock, Freddie Ogden-Metherell. Freddie also happens to the the son of the founders of i2i, Charlie and Richard Ogden-Metherell! More here.
🏗️ Gloucestershire College has confirmed it has secured the £4.5m it needs to build a new vocational training centre from Government. The college, which has campuses in the Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Gloucester, has been working on designs for the new facility with city architects Roberts Limbrick. It is understood it will now go out to tender for a construction firm to carry out the work and hopes to welcome its first students in September 2027. You can read our original story here.
👨🏼💼👨🏼💼 Former family-owned plumbing business Hewer has appointed two new senior team members. Stuart Hesk is the Gloucester-based firm’s new managing director, and Ian Haughton is its commercial director. Hewer (Hewer FM as it was called) was founded in 1965 and was subject to a management buyout in 20024. Today it employs more than 160 staff.
Dates for your diary…
As we move into the holiday period and it feels like the What’s On calendar goes a little blank, here are some key dates for your diary stretching into October, starting with a short feature on a special event for property investors and landlords in September…
Landlords struggling with renters Rights Act to get a helping hand
Four months on from its introduction the Renters’ Rights Act clarity is still being sought by landlords, investors, property owners, and developers. A special seminar plans to deliver just that.
When it was introduced in May this year it was hailed as a triumph for tenants’ rights, but many private landlords are still battling to digest the Renters’ Rights Act.
Wider feedback says landlords are struggling with significant concerns over falling margins, rising costs, a lack of governmental support and other issues.
Experts from law firm Willans LLP will aim to address concerns of landlords, investors, developers and agents with a free in-person seminar in September.
“Many landlords and letting agents expected the biggest challenge to be understanding the Renters’ Rights Act before it came into force.
“However, the real test has been applying the new rules in day-to-day situations,” said Katie Charlton, from Willans’ litigation and dispute resolution team.
“Now that the legislation has been in place for several months, we are helping clients navigate the practical issues that have inevitably arisen as the reforms are put into practice.”.
Bethen Abraham, a solicitor in Willans LLP’s litigation and dispute resolution team, will also be delivering the seminar.
“Our seminar is designed to give landlords, letting agents and other property professionals the practical guidance they need to remain compliant, as well as the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and discuss any challenges they may be facing,” said Abraham.
The Government called the Renters’ Rights Act “the biggest increase to private tenant protections in decades”. Homeless charity Crisis agreed, saying it gave renters “more security and a fairer deal”.
But almost immediately the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) was calling for that clearer guidance and preparation.
The seminar is due to take place on 8 September from 4pm to 6pm at DoubleTree by Hilton Cheltenham-Cotswolds, Cirencester Road, Cheltenham GL53 8EA. More here.
More future events…
The Cotswolds Huddle is scheduled for Tuesday, 4 August 2026 at 11:30 am. The event will be held at Vinotopia on the Nailsworth Mills Estate, Avening Road, and is described as ‘a free, casual networking event for businesses’. No booking or tickets are required.
Cheltenham BID, Gloucestershire County Council and Cheltenham Borough Council’s ‘public realm update and engagement event’ at Hub8 MX on Tuesday 11 August from 5pm to 7pm. Hear from the decision-makers, ask questions and help shape the vision for Cheltenham town centre. More here.
WSP Solicitors will stage another of its popular Tapas Tuesday networking events on Tuesday, 8 September from noon till 2pm at Sebz Cafe Tapas Restaurant, Gloucester. More here.
Cheltenham Animal Shelter celebrates 100 years with a fundraising drinks reception, three-course dinner, black-tie ball and live music from Tux Fizz at Pitville Pump Room on Friday 11 September. More here.
The Property Forum’s State of the Nation event at The Shirt Factory, Gloucester, on Thursday 17 September, sponsored by Willans LLP solicitors and Hazlewoods. A panel featuring city MP Alex McIntyre will discuss housing, planning, regulation, financial implications and the wider economic outlook. From 9am to 11am. More here.
The Property Forum is at it again with its Inspiring Women event at The Tavern, Cheltenham, on Thursday 24 September. Sarah Bryars, vice chair and trustee of Friends of Westonbirt and PR/Comms Strategist, will host with special guest Sophie Nash, programme manager for Forestry England. BPE Solicitors sponsors. More here.
The team from CyNam is due to stage Gloucestershire Tech Week (GTW) from 12th to 16 October. More here.
British electric race car research centre planned for Gloucestershire. Or it was...
Could one of the UK’s most exciting car marques, founded by a Gloucestershire billionaire, be about to take its business and investment elsewhere after the county refused permission to build here?
Carmelo Garcia and Andrew Merrell.
Sir David McMurtry (pictured below), the multi-millionaire genius engineer and co-founder of engineering giant Renishaw, spent the last few years of his life helping develop one of the most exciting racing cars on modern times.
McMurtry Automotive Ltd’s McMurtry Spéirling electric supercar – if you are familiar with the Batman movies, think Batmobile – which pushed the boundaries, set records and turned heads. And it was built here in Gloucestershire.
It’s since also produced a production car version for sale to anyone who can afford £995,000.
Sir David died in 2024, but off the back of the success with its car the team at McMurtry Automotive was already at work on its next project, to create a UK research and development centre for electric race cars.
And the plan was to build that centre here in Gloucestershire near its existing offices and the headquarters of Renishaw, a business Sir David co-founded in 1973, which made him his fortune and which employs 5,000 staff, 3,000 in the UK, with many of those in Gloucestershire.
Or at least McMurtry Automotive was planning to invest here, until its proposals went before the planning committee at Stroud District Council.
Their refusal to allow the business to build the centre at Wotton-under-Edge has put into question whether it will now take that investment out of county and even whether the business will see its future here at all.
Daniel Jones, planning agent for McMurtry Automotive, spoke in favour of the proposals at the development control committee, telling councillors the plans were about keeping the innovative electric vehicle tech firm McMurtry Automotive in the Stroud district.
“It’s exactly the type of high-value business the district and county should support and retain,” said Jones.
“This is not a speculative application. It is for a known end user with an immediate need for purpose-built research development and production facilities.”
He said the company needed certainty to invest, grow and remain in the area.
The plans, he said, would have led to the delivery high skilled engineering jobs while supporting a successful local business.
“There is a clear locational reason for being here. The site adjoins Renishaw, an established centre of high technology and research offering access to world-class engineering.
“There is also a family connection: the late Sir David McMurtry founded McMurtry Automotive,” added Jones.
Marilyn Basketter, vice chair of Kingswood Parish Council, said councillors were not opposed to employment development on that site but nevertheless supported the officer’s recommendation for refusal.
“We recognise the importance of creating jobs, supporting businesses and the economic benefits that this proposal could bring.
“Our concern is that approving this application in isolation would actually jeopardise the long-term employment potential of the wider suite.”
She said the lack of a masterplan for the wider site was a concern. The applicant, said Basketter, had been given “more than sufficient time” to present one.
“Granting permission now could prejudice the future development of the remainder of the allocation,” she added.
“It could restrict how the site is planned and developed in the future and it could ultimately jeopardise the very business and employment opportunities that this allocation was intended to provide.”
Labour Councillor Dave Matthews (Cainscross) said there was not sufficient justification for the scheme at that particular location.
“There’s tremendous warmth towards the McMurtry family, to David McMurtry specifically, and to Renishaw as an organisation,” he said.
“That is a major consideration in the ward and more widely in other locations around the district.
“However, it seems to me that it’s very clear that this application doesn’t comply with the things we would normally expect to see in an application.”
He went on to say the plans are for a big building in the open countryside which would be very visible from the main road and there are questions over the impact on wildlife.
“It would change quite dramatically the view of that location,” he said.
The committee voted to refuse permission in line with the officer’s recommendation by eight votes in favour with Councillor Lindsey Green (C, Berkeley Vale) voting against.
Raikes did contact McMurtry Automotive for a comment and will add it into the story as soon as it arrives.
The McMurtry Spéirling is an electric single-seat prototype sports car which was first presented at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2021. It can produce 1,000 bhp, is capable of 0-60mph in 1.55 seconds and 0-100 mph in 2.63 seconds with a top speed of 185mph.
As the UK seeks to meet its ambitious target of phasing out new petrol and diesel engines by 2023 the development of the electric car market and its technology is key. Electric car motorsport is seen as an important part of the mix as the nation pushed to develop the technology. Oxfordshire is currently the hotbed of this niche but growing world. An area of Oxfordshire and the West Midlands is home to six of our of 11 of the 2026 season Formula 1 teams, including Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, McLaren, Alpine and Williams. A global centre for motorsport development, advanced materials, aerodynamic design and performance engineering, with technologies directly transferrable to EV and autonomous vehicle applications. Most of the UK’s current 32 dedicated automotive R&D centres are in the area outlined above. None are in Gloucestershire.
By Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter for Gloucestershire (and Andrew Merrell).
*The Raikes Journal is the only independent news outlet in Gloucestershire approved to use the copy of the BBC local government reporting service. Why? Only independent, credible journalistically-led platforms that meet the BBC’s high standards win that permission.