Some of the world’s biggest tech companies are working in secret across Gloucestershire in undisclosed locations, it has been revealed.
A huge ecosystem of businesses has been discovered near to the UK’s spy agency GCHQ in Cheltenham as plans move forward for a vast cyber security development in the town.
According to Cheltenham Borough Council, the town now has 11 times the concentration of cyber security businesses than the UK norm and the greatest concentration outside London. In the last five years alone, Cheltenham had seen a 45% increase in jobs in cyber security compared to a 20% average rise across the rest of the country.
The revelation comes as work continues to drive forward a pioneering project to build the UK’s first cyber business park on the western edge of the town, next to the Government’s security agency.
The Golden Valley Development will have the UK’s new National Cyber Innovation Centre at its heart, but will also include 3,700 homes and high-tech workspace for cyber start-ups. The development will span some 200 hectares and is expected to create nearly 12,000 jobs and two million square feet of commercial space.
Cheltenham Borough Council has bought 45 hectares and will deliver the first stage of the campus, including the national innovation centre and associated office space.
Tim Atkins, managing director for place and growth at Cheltenham Borough Council and a project director for the Golden Valley Development, told BusinessLive the “internationally significant” scheme would help lead Britain’s mission to become the safest place in the world to do online business.
"We have uncovered a huge cyber ecosystem [in Gloucestershire] but it has been very low key - due to the sensitive nature of the work," he said.
"The whole drive of the Golden Valley Development project is to help the UK scale up in terms of cyber security & innovation. We are playing an important role in the national mission to be the safest place in the world to live and do online business."
"The government is very keen to bring their innovation programmes closer to business and academia. The recently announced commitment to delivering the National Cyber Innovation Centre as part of the Golden Valley Development will enable this to have a truly international importance and a site directly adjacent to GCHQ."
In December, the Government unveiled its £2.6bn National Cyber Strategy which sets out how the UK will solidify its position as a global cyber power. The Golden Valley Development was mentioned in the plans as a key organisation to help foster the growth of the country’s cyber and information security sector.
“[This development] is hugely important not just for Cheltenham, but the South West and wider UK. Getting it right and putting us on a global footing will show Cheltenham and Gloucestershire as an epicentre and could really make a difference to us as a region,” said Mr Atkins.
HBD X Factory, a joint venture between UK property developer Henry Boot Development (HBD) and the international innovation campus developer Factory, was appointed as the preferred development partner in 2021. HBD X Factory will be responsible for bringing forward the £1bn first phase, including the cyber business park - known as UK Cyber Central - and its Innovation Zone.
Contracts are expected to be signed off by the end of April or in early May, according to Mr Atkins, who said the first phase could take up to 18 months to build.
The development of the green fields next to GCHQ will also include millions of pounds of investment on transport links, including improving highway infrastructure to make sure there is good access to the campus.
Gloucestershire County Council was awarded £249m from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) to deliver a four-way junction at junction 10 of the M5. It has also carried out a £22m project of work to the A40, which comes close to the entrance to the site funded by GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Golden Valley Development is targeting an open date of 2024-2025, depending on the progress of the project. Later this year the local authority will submit its planning applications with construction expected to start in 2023.
The scheme will involve a number of planning applications that could take up to a year to complete, according to Mr Atkins, who said the council’s land interests are not just one site.
A project of this magnitude is likely to cause challenges - but the council has said it is "confident" it will be able to deliver the scheme in an “effective and speedy” way.
“Things will change and you have to be able to react - and that is probably the biggest challenge, being able to flex to things happening in the world around us,” said Mr Atkins.
'Our vision is to make it sustainable'
The office buildings and workspace will be targeting high environmental credentials, although Mr Atkins admits the commercial development is always “much harder” to make carbon zero.
“Our objective is to push as far as we can. If we are going to bring forward a landmark building, we want to make sure we push forward as far as reasonably possible. We are in the process of getting the design of the centrepiece and getting that right.
“Sustainable performance is really important as we know it will be important to some of the occupants. Our vision is to make it sustainable as well as commercially sensible.”
Mr Atkins remains tight-lipped about the businesses involved in the scheme currently, but admits the council is already engaged in conversations with a number of “global giants”.
“We want to attract some of the world’s greatest businesses and exciting start-ups,” he said. “We want an internationally important innovation centre so we need a mix between academia, small and big business, and Government.”
The local authority has said it is hoping to engage local businesses in the delivery of Golden Valley Development too, including as part of the supply chain. But its focus for now is getting the development agreement over the line before submitting planning applications. After that, said Mr Atkins, it will be turning the significant interest from businesses into actual tenancies.
He added: “I honestly think we are creating something which is so important to everyone’s everyday lives. We have become so reliant on online business, and the threat to that is becoming greater. We are creating something that will be internationally important and will enable the ‘good guys’ to do things better.”
