MIRA test centre named ‘enterprise zone' in government announcement

The MIRA test centre, which is home to tyre and vehicle research facilities belonging to the likes of Dunlop and GiTi, has become an official “enterprise zone” as part of a government announcement. Ministers said 30,000 new jobs would be created by 2015 at the 21 locations spread out across the country of which MIRA is just one. The idea is that by giving cheaper business rates, superfast broadband and lower levels of planning control, business aren’t hindered in their growth.

MIRA, which is based near Hinckley, said it hoped to create a £300 million research and engineering centre on site. Graham Gillespie, MIRA chief executive, told reporters: “Having the enterprise zone will strengthen our ability to attract businesses from overseas.”

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, added: “The news that the MIRA bid has been successful is very good news. While it lies just over the county border, it plays a significant part in the economy of Coventry and Warwickshire and is a centre of engineering excellence.”

The complete list of new locations announced earlier was:

• Daresbury Science Campus near Runcorn
• Newquay AeroHub in Cornwall
• The Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus Airfield in Gosport
• Rotherwas Enterprise Zone in Hereford
• Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent
• Enterprise West Essex in Harlow
• Science Vale UK in Oxfordshire
• Alconbury Airfield in Cambridgeshire
• Great Yarmouth in Norfolk
• Lowestoft in Suffolk
• Northampton Waterside
• MIRA Technology Park in Hinckley Leicestershire
• Humber Estuary Renewable Energy Super Cluster

Related news:

• MIRA to invest £300 million in becoming ‘Europe’s most advanced independent testing facility’

• Giti Tire Doubles MIRA Testing Operation

• MIRA Opens Brussels Office