Will 2026 be the year the Golden Valley Development begins?
Conceived almost 10 years ago, hailed as a “once in a lifetime” project, the team behind the £1blln Golden Valley Development is confident that 2026 will be the year spades finally go in the ground.
Dear readers,
A double-edged edition today. One story bringing home the stark reality facing the start of the new year for more than 100 staff at a Gloucestershire factory, after news broke it plans to close operations in the county.
And then there is the potentially fantastic news that the Golden Valley Development is facing its final planning hurdle before work can begin.
We’ve decided not to get caught up entirely in the fanfare following in the wake of the Golden Valley media release.
If it wasn’t such a thoroughly exciting project, and if we lived in a time when local media held councils to account, the amount of noise on social media and unchallenged press releases published about what is a project funded by public money would have been balanced out somewhat.
There are frustrations out there among more than a few about the progress of the scheme, and we know conversations have taken place about leadership and costs, but in a landscape where hope of lots of investment is a powerful force for keeping everyone in line, most do not want to go public and jinx it all.
And neither do we!
I hope your first full week of 2026 has gone well. Long may it continue.
As for the first story, my thoughts are with the staff at Invista.
Best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
Fears for 125 jobs as factory announces closure plans
Staff at a Gloucester factory on the site of the county’s historic former airport could be facing redundancy after the owners announced plans to move all work abroad to “strengthen” its position.
By Andrew Merrell.
One hundred and twenty five staff await to hear their fate after the owner of the factory they work for in Gloucester announced it was exploring plans to close the operation.
Brockworth-based Invista, owned by American giant Koch Industries, said if it went ahead with the plans it would move operations to its base in Kingston, Canada, and also be exploring sites in China.
The intention, according to the business, would be “to strengthen its global operating footprint and position the business for long-term competitiveness”.
Brook Vickery, INVISTA president and chief executive officer, said: “These proposals are not a reflection of their performance or commitment, but rather a response to today’s market environment and the need to align our operations with where we see long-term opportunity.
“Our top priority now is ensuring the safe, stable operation of our facilities as we work through the changes necessary to evaluate and, if approved, implement these proposals.”
Read the full story here: Fears for 125 jobs as factory announces closure plans.
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Briefing notes…
🏭 Members news: High profile advanced engineering firm appoints administrators: Back in 2018 the Gloucestershire-based co-founder of a county engineering firm was escorting Theresa May on a three-day trade visit to China. All seemed rosy with the fast-growing firm, which had also become a darling of the Alternative Investment Market. That founder and the face of the firm, Neil Ricketts, was also part of the successful Gloucestershire’s local enterprise partnership team at GFirst LEP. And then in 2023, Ricketts, then chief executive officer of Versarien plc, resigned. This week the Forest of Dean-headquartered business has appointed administrators.
👨💼👩🏿💼👩💼 New centre for 100 businesses officially opens in Gloucester: It’s enjoyed its fair share of hype in the build up to this moment, but a new business centre which hopes to be home to 100 businesses and host 500 staff is now officially live in Gloucester. Opening in The Forum, the city’s new flagship office, retail and leisure development, the centre has already attracted tenants.
⚡🏗️ 🏘️ Former EDF offices could be demolished to make way for up to 300 homes: Plans are afoot to redevelop EDF’s former site in Gloucester to make way for up to 300 homes and new offices, industrial units and warehouses. The French state-owned energy company, which relocated to Gloucester Business Park in 2021, is looking to turn its former offices at Barnett Way in Barnwood into homes and business use.
The weekend ahead…
Friday.
🏉 Gloucester Rugby play Edinburgh Rugby away from 8pm this evening.
🎸 Cinema. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere at The Roses, Tewkesbury. An “intimate, behind-the-scenes exploration of the creation of Bruce Springsteen’s stark 1982 masterpiece, Nebraska”. From 7.30pm.
Saturday.
⚽ Cheltenham Town play Championship side Leicester City in the third round of the FA Cup at home. KO is 12.15pm.
⚽ Forest Green Rovers FC play Ebbsfleet United away. KO 3pm.
⚽ Gloucester City FC play Marine away. KO 3pm.
Sunday.
📺 Gloucester History Festival Winter Warmer 2026 online festival continues through this weekend with more than 70 historians, broadcasters and top names. Tickets are £7 per event with a pass costing £32 for all 50 events.
Will 2026 be the year the Golden Valley Development begins?
Conceived almost 10 years ago, hailed as a “once in a lifetime” £1blln project, the team behind the Golden Valley Development is confident that 2026 will be the year spades finally go in the ground.
By Andrew Merrell.
“If you build it they will come,” as the widely misquoted version of the original line from the 1989 film Field of Dreams goes.
In Gloucestershire it’s happened the other way around. Many cyber and tech businesses have come, but they are still waiting for the “it” to be build while they hold up in the Hub8 MX building in central Cheltenham.
That “it” being the Golden Valley Development. But it now looks like one of the key final hurdles to that happening is about to be cleared.
