Alex was delighted to invite Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to Cheltenham. Alex arranged for him to visit for a briefing on our town’s cyber plans, and in particular on the upcoming cyber innovation centre, funded with £20m from central Government.
The centre is due to open in 2026, and Alex was grateful to GCHQ for hosting talks with the Chancellor inside the Doughnut, close to where the facility will be built.
Alex's vision, first set out in 2014, for a Cheltenham cyber park was inspired by wanting to see young people growing up in one of the most deprived parts of Cheltenham receiving the best life chances our country has to offer. Cyber delivers high-paid jobs and opportunity.
During the visit, Jeremy Hunt said:
"I've never seen a local area backed as much as Cheltenham has been by Alex Chalk.
"What we can see now with the Golden Valley Project and the cyber innovation centre is that we’re going to have 11,000 well paid jobs for people living in the area and Cheltenham is going to be part of the incredible tech revolution that’s happening in this country.”