Could this development steal the Golden Valley’s thunder?
With all eyes on the £1 billion Golden Valley Development, a relatively low-profile scheme elsewhere in Gloucestershire - also of potentially huge economic impact - is quietly progressing.
Dear reader,
Welcome to the first edition of the week. We hope your Monday has gone well.
We’ll dive straight into introducing the edition today, which includes the usual briefing notes, plus a short piece about neurodiversity.
We keep talking about it, about how we’re learning to understand what it means, what it means for those of us who are neurodiverse, and how individuals who are neurodiverse can benefit businesses and organisations. But how on earth do you achieve the latter and why is it important to give it some serious thought?
That’s the subject of the first lead article.
But the main story that leads the edition turns attention to a proposed development that appears to have passed many people by.
You’ll possibly have seen it reported elsewhere as ‘a big housing development’, but it’s much more than that.
Together with other plans moving along nicely very close to the site, plus some recent announcements on a national scale, we are talking about a scheme that all in all could have as much economic impact as the much-trumpeted Golden Valley Development.
But just what development are we talking about?
You’ll have to read the story to find out.
Have a great week.
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Andrew Merrell (editor).
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Your briefing notes…
🏗️ Work has started on a £50 million development in Cheltenham’s Central Conservation Area. Birmingham-based housebuilding Wavensmere Homes, in partnership with estate asset manager Montane Partners, is building Arkle Court - 75 three-bedroomed townhouses and 72 one and two-bedroom apartments that are expected to take two and a half years to complete and be ready in the autumn of 2026. The redevelopment will connect Pittville Park, through North Place, to the Brewery Quarter, the Lower High Street Poundland site – which will see a mixed-use redevelopment – through to the cyber-tech Hub MX and Minster Gardens. Credit for the image: Glancy Nicholls.
🏉 A family business that has already invested million of pounds in its hometown of Cinderford is at it again. KW Bell, the Forest of Dean-based construction firm that backed the AccXel Construction School opposite its HQ, has revealed it has agreed to fully fund a new £1.35 million pitch at Cinderford Rugby Club. The 3G playing surface will be built to World Rugby regulations 22 standard. Peter Bell, chief executive of KW Bell Group and president of the club for nearly 20 years, said the investment would ensure players of all levels - from juniors to professionals - would be able to access to “a world-class playing surface, no matter the weather”.
🏭💷 A forest of Dean firm has finally received the last delayed payment from a South Korean business following its sale of plant and equipment in March last year. The payment to Versarien was meant to be completed in March 2024 as part of its own turnaround strategy, but MCK Tech had asked for an extension to the terms. Versarien, a specialist in the application of graphene to a number of processes and materials, said it has now received £611,000 in total. The Gloucestershire engineering firm has decided to place greater focus on monetising its IP through licencing, granting a five-year licence to MCK Tech to use five patents. The firm will pay Versarien an amount equal to 4.5 per cent of the total sales revenue earned making products using the IP.
Neurodiversity, the workplace and how to make it work for everyone
As attitudes change and we wake up to the benefits of a neurodiverse staff team, and more of us are diagnosed as neurodiverse, it falls to workplaces to make sure they stay up to speed if everyone is to truly thrive.
Exactly what that means and how to achieve it, what the benefits for all are, and the potential wins and pitfalls for businesses - these are just part of the focus of a webinar due to be staged next week.
Maria Rogers, a HR expert and neurodiversity coach from Gloucestershire-based NeuroThive People Solutions, will be joining forces with Hifsa O’Kelly, a senior associate solicitor in employment law at Cheltenham-headquartered solicitors Willans to deliver the event.
The webinar will cover topics including ‘what is neurodiversity?’, ‘ADHD and autism – challenges and strengths’, ‘how employers can help neurodivergent individuals to thrive’, and ‘best practice – where to get help’.
Rogers, is a former business manager for Barnett Waddingham and head of HR for luxury travel specialists Abercrombie & Kent and has not just her expertise but personal experience to draw on.
“I was diagnosed in my forties. My daughter was undergoing tests for ADHD and so many things chimed with me that I ended up getting a diagnosis myself. It turns out I have ADHD,” said Rogers, who explained that it helped her understand more about herself, about how she learned, that had been hugely positive.
“The issue is that many firms want to accommodate people who are nuerodiverse, or they want to support staff, or to better understand, but they just don’t know how,” said Rogers.
“It is vital that they do so. Understanding someone who has ADHD, for example, can help companies to put measures in place that will improve their productivity and could lead to other gains too.
“We can help both businesses and individuals navigate their way. For some it will be a shift of mindset that is required; for others there might be other factors to bear in mind and changes that might need to happen.
“The important thing to realise is this can be beneficial for the company and everyone who works there.
O’Kelly said: “As awareness of neurodiversity and the challenges that can be faced by neurodivergent individuals increases, it’s essential for employers to cultivate inclusive workplaces where every individual can flourish.
“Making reasonable adjustments to create an environment that fosters productivity and supports mental wellbeing will greatly benefit an employee’s sense of self-worth, confidence, and dedication to their work.
“At our upcoming seminar, we’ll explore what neurodiversity is and active steps employers can take to empower neurodivergent employees to thrive in the workplace.”
Neurodiversity at work: challenges, strengths and legal considerations is aimed at directors, HR professionals, legal advisors and business owners and is due to take place on Wednesday 12 March at 10am. Find out more here.
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Could this development steal the Golden Valley’s thunder?
With all eyes on the £1 billion Golden Valley Development a relatively low-profile scheme elsewhere in Gloucestershire - also of potentially huge economic impact - is quietly progressing.
By Andrew Merrell.
When an initial brochure outlining the plans first surfaced in 2021 it was claimed this development near the River Severn would result in an investment of well over three quarters of a billion pounds into Gloucestershire.
According to the blurb it would deliver £850 million of investment during construction alone, £750m of economic output in its first 35 years, attract 6,000-plus new residents who would spend £36m in local shops and contribute an extra £65m annually to the county’s economy.
And that’s not even counting the businesses that would fill the tech park at the centre of the scheme, which would release 10 hectares of land for employment use. It would be close to the M4 too and served by its own railway line.
It’s a proposal on such a scale as to invite obvious comparisons with the much-publicised Golden Valley Development near Cheltenham. It is not pie in the sky - the scheme is now awaiting a planning decision.
Like the Golden Valley scheme, which is expected to be a significant boost to the county’s growing cyber sector, the second development is being talked about as a new home for fast-growing cyber firms, but also for another significant sector of national importance. Nuclear.
If you were looking for a hefty weight to balance the scales of fairness when it comes to economic development and potential at the other end of Gloucestershire from the Golden Valley Development (GV), down in Stroud district for example, this does very nicely indeed.
Link it up with what’s going on at nearby Berkeley, where the Western Gateway partnership proposes its Severn Edge Low Carbon Energy Park, and it’s huge. Probably bigger even than GV.
Why haven’t you heard about Sharpness Vale? Read on, because you’re about to.
A spokesman for Sharpness Development LLP, the business driving the plans for Sharpness Vale, told Raikes: “The 10-hectare business park proposed as part of Sharpness Vale (see the image at the top f this story) will provide a mix of flexible office space, innovation hubs, and light industrial units aimed at businesses in renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital industries.
“While separate from Berkeley Science and Technology Park, it will complement its ambitions by creating a hub for start-ups, scale-ups, and established businesses within Gloucestershire’s wider economic growth strategy.
“The business park is expected to attract companies working in clean energy, professional and scientific services, and advanced engineering, supporting the ambitions of Severn Edge, Cyber Valley, and Great British Nuclear.
“As well as strengthening the local economy, the business park will create new job opportunities for people living in Sharpness, Berkeley, and the surrounding area, reducing the need to commute long distances.
“Its sustainable design and integrated transport links will ensure that employment is accessible to local residents while attracting new investment into the area.”
While the Golden Valley will involve 200 hectares of land and 3,700 new homes the core of the Sharpness Vale scheme is just 10 hectares and 2,750 “energy-efficient homes”.
Where they are closer is that at the heart of both is a business park each scheme argues will become an economic driver of considerable significance.
In the case of the GV it will help Cheltenham justify its claims to be the cyber capital of the UK, although the team behind it has backed away from a soley cyber focus of late.
GV’s business park, we’re told, will also create an estimated 2,800 on-site jobs and generate £150.5m annually.
Sharpness Vale is expected to create 1,200 full-time jobs when complete and 590-plus during construction.
Each will require an improved or new motorway junction, one somewhere close to Tewkesbury off the M5, the other will come with development around junction 14 further south.
What we haven’t mentioned yet about nearby Berkeley is its potential to be at the heart of significant investment to create the next generation of UK nuclear power stations.
The Western Gateway’s Severn Edge site has made Berkeley Science and Technology Park a point of significant focus, not least for the nuclear industry.
South Gloucestershire and Stroud (SGS) College sold the 40-acre park in August last year to energy firm Chiltern Vital Group (CVG) for £6.5 million, a firm at the heart of the plans for the nuclear power sector.
Only last month Simon Bowen, chairman of Great British Nuclear (GBN), was telling everyone how Berkeley had “huge potential” to once again become a nuclear hub.
If all goes to plan Berkeley Green and Oldbury, just over the border in South Gloucestershire, will become significant players and sites of major investment and development for years to come.
Laurence Clarke, representing GreenSquareAccord, one of the UK’s largest affordable homes and services providers and one half of Sharpness Development LLP, said: “For over seven years, we have worked closely with Stroud District Council and the local community to develop a plan that responds to immediate and long-term needs.
“With the progression of Great British Nuclear’s plans for Severn Edge, the case for Sharpness Vale supporting local economic growth gets stronger by the day.”
With the plans now submitted to Stroud District Council it is impossible to find anyone at the local authority, the county authority, its economic growth board that replaced GFirst LEP or Stroud disctrict’s MP, Simon Opher, to comment on the record.
Off the record the tremendous economic potential is undenied. The issue may not be getting the plans agreed, but getting the Government to tackle the motorway junction issue, is what Raikes was told.
Andy Faizey, strategic land director at Lioncourt Strategic Land, the other half of Sharpness Development LLP, is not so sure.
“This application demonstrates our commitment to delivering a sustainable, well-connected community that provides new homes, jobs, and infrastructure while respecting the area’s long-term needs.
“With National Highways identifying solutions for M5 Junction 14, we are confident this development can bring much-needed homes and jobs while supporting long-term strategic infrastructure planning,” said Faizey.