Building work can start on town's 'Silicon Valley'

Construction work on what has been described as a town's "Silicon Valley" can begin after the first phase of the £1bn project received final sign-off.

The development, which includes a 160,000 sq ft building for the cyber and technology sector and more than 450 car parking spaces, was approved on Thursday by Cheltenham Borough Council's planning committee.

A bid for 433 homes and a primary school near the site was also approved in the same council meeting.

Speaking in the meeting, councillor Iain Dobie described the plans as "our own Silicon Valley" and said they were of national and potentially international importance.

The proposals form part of wider plans named Golden Valley to build 3,700 homes and create 12,000 jobs on land next to GCHQ in what developers are saying will be the UK's cyber capital.

The plans approved on Thursday will help create a campus where businesses and GCHQ work together on national security and defence, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The teams behind the project hope it will be completed in 10 to 15 years.

Dobie said the plans were "genuinely exciting" for the area and Golden Valley was the most important development in Gloucestershire.

"I've talked before of the magic that is going to happen there and the employment that will be generated by that.

"And the security this will also provide, not only in terms of employment in Cheltenham but also for the whole of the county of Gloucestershire and beyond," he told the meeting.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the proposals, which will be delivered by developer HBD.

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