McMurtry Automotive's plans to build a new facility to support its development of electric 'hypercars' have been turned down by Stroud District Council.
The Stroud-based track car maker, founded in 2016 by the late Sir David McMurtry, had applied for permission to build a new 4,820sqm research and development centre on land adjoining Renishaw in Charfield Road, Kingswood.
Following the opening of the firm's new factory in nearby Wotton-Under-Edge in February 2026, a planning agent cited the company's 'immediate need' for purpose-built research and development facilities at a meeting to debate the proposals last week, saying the scheme's approval was about keeping the 'innovative' electric vehicle tech firm in the Stroud district.
But council planners refused the scheme on the grounds that its countryside location could not be justified, according to local democracy reporter, Carmelo Garcia.
Planning agent Daniel Jones had told councillors McMurtry Automotive was 'exactly the type of high-value business the district and county should support and retain'.
He went on to say that the company needs certainty to invest, grow and remain in the area, and that the plans would deliver highly skilled engineering jobs while supporting a successful local business.
He added the proposed location adjoining Renishaw offered access to world-class engineering from the 'established centre of high technology and research', and also cited the family connection to Renishaw co-founder Sir David McMurtry.
But Councillor Dave Matthews said there was not sufficient justification for its development at that particular location.
He said: 'There’s tremendous warmth towards the McMurtry family, to David McMurtry specifically, and to Renishaw as an organisation. 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 said the new building would 'quite dramatically' change the view of the open countryside, and that there are questions over its impact on wildlife.
The committee voted to refuse permission in line with the officer’s recommendation by eight votes in favour, to one against.
