I was surprised and disappointed by the attempts of local politicians at Cheltenham Borough Council to block plans for Cheltenham’s cyber park to become an economic investment zone. It is, I’m afraid, an act of strategic self-harm which damages our town’s economic prospects.
I declare an interest. I came up with the idea of a cyber park in 2014 before I was elected. I knew then that cyber was a sector where we had a competitive advantage due to GCHQ. So I wanted to deliver a tech hub which would generate highly-paid jobs, and a route out of deprivation for Cheltenham’s less fortunate communities.
Since then, we secured £23m from the Government for Cheltenham to deliver the major transport improvements around the Arle Court roundabout to make the park possible. In addition, the Government has funded a successful Cyber Innovation Centre here, with start-up companies supported and nurtured by GCHQ experts. Those companies are estimated to have a combined value of £40 million, and businesses have been attracted from as far afield as Spain and the United States to invest here.
Investment zones presented a golden opportunity to accelerate this vision. Under the current plans, companies in investment zones will benefit from business rates relief. In turn, local authorities will receive 100 per cent of the business rates growth for several years. Offering time-limited tax incentives drives growth by incentivising cyber businesses to start, grow and innovate. That in turn delivers investment, quality jobs, and higher wages.
Rejecting these measures is an example of self-sabotage which our competitors in Malvern and Cambridge will be quietly cheering. It risks stalling the massive progress we have made in recent years which led to Cheltenham being listed in the Investment Atlas, as "a unique location for cyber investment in the UK where businesses can be part of an established thriving cluster."
Is the Council really interested in the cyber park? Or is their actual plan to use the fig-leaf of cyber to build thousands of houses on nearby green fields? Many in Cheltenham are starting to wonder.
[Column first published in the Glos Echo]