Council backs £95m investment for major cyber development

Cheltenham’s Golden Valley cyber development has taken a major step forward after councillors approved spending up to £95m on the project.

Cheltenham Borough Council has approved funding for the Golden Valley Development – the biggest project the council has undertaken.

The development will be built on land next to GCHQ and is expected to create 12,000 new jobs and 3,700 houses.

It is hoped that development will cement Cheltenham’s position as the UK’s cyber capital.

A planning application is due to be submitted in the next few weeks and the project could take between 10 and 15 years to deliver.

Cllr ike Collins, cabinet member for cyber, regeneration and commercial income at Cheltenham Borough Council said: ‘’I am pleased that we have taken a huge step forward in the delivery of our Golden Valley ambitions and now have a development funding agreement to enable us to move forward with this first phase. This is significant and will give us assurance on a number of levels. Funding a project of this scale and nature comes with associated risk but this agreement provides us with a number of protections through a variety of clauses and conditions that must be satisfied before any funding is provided.’’

Matt Bellshaw, director at HBD, said: “It’s fantastic to see the funding agreement signed off – Golden Valley is one of the UK’s most exciting new developments and we look forward to continuing to work alongside the council, key stakeholders and the community to bring the vision to life.”

Central to the protections provided by the funding agreement is a cap in case construction costs increase.