Cheltenham's MP, Alex Chalk, has welcomed the Digital Minister, Matt Hancock MP, to see the cutting edge work taking place at a the town's new 'Cyber Accelerator'.
While visiting the Cyber Accelerator, the Digital Minister heard from a selection of the businesses who are already benefitting from the pioneering incubator space available. The entrepreneurs confirmed it was the “envy of technology companies across the world”. Mr Hancock heard how a number of the businesses fly to the UK every week simply to access the expertise and state of the art working space now available in Cheltenham.
Commenting on the visit, Mr Chalk said ''I am really proud that this accelerator is now up and running in our town, and the cyber vision is becoming a reality. The cyber sector is crucial to our future economic success and Cheltenham has an obvious competitive advantage. I brought the Digital Minister to see the innovation already taking place, and it was hugely encouraging to hear directly from the industry how this ground breaking initiative is seen internationally.
“We the need to keep up the momentum as we build a cyber cluster to rival the most established technology centres across the world.''
The Cyber Accelerator, currently based in Cheltenham town centre, forms a integral part of GCHQ's new Cyber Innovation Centre. It which was first announced by the Chancellor in November 2015 following intense lobbying from Mr Chalk. With £22 million of Government Growth Deal funding now secured for infrastructure improvements to underpin the next iteration of the Cyber Innovation Centre as a standalone site within a wider cyber ecosystem. But in the meantime the two key elements of the Centre are up and running in the heart of Cheltenham, less than 18 months after the Government's initial announcement.