Gloucester launches major new Digital Campus project

Published by

Nicky Godding

Gloucester is set to have one of the largest digital quarters in the UK as more details of the £85 million Kings Quarter project – announced as The Forum – are revealed.

With work expected to start next year, The Forum will create a vibrant new social and digital campus for the South West, and act as a catalyst for an emerging digital and cyber security sector.

Developed by Reef Group, in partnership with Gloucester City Council, it was launched during part of Gloucester Day at an event attended by the MP for Gloucester Richard Graham, Gloucester City Council leader Cllr Richard Cook and other stakeholders.

More than 125,000 sq ft of new versatile office space will be developed, alongside a shared workspace club and an innovation hub designed for emerging cyber businesses and incubator businesses.

This will sit alongside a 116-bedroom four-star hotel, a 9,000 sq ft gym, restaurants, shops, bars and cathedral view apartments.

As part of the 600,000 sq ft masterplan for The Forum, there will be a multi-storey car park, alongside over one acre of public realm and landscaping work.

Building on Gloucester’s history of innovation, The Forum will create a new mixed-use urban environment set to attract major occupiers and the region’s best talent.

Councillor Richard Cook, Leader of Gloucester City Council said: “Not only will we have a large-scale digital campus which will attract significant investors to the city, but a superb newly regenerated area of the city for residents and visitors.”

Richard Graham, MP for Gloucester said: ““It is wonderful to launch The Forum on Gloucester Day. This development is aimed at attracting digital companies with an international reach to the heart of Gloucester - next to the Transport Hub and soon to be improved Railway Station. This is one of Gloucester’s key projects and its success will help transform our city centre.”

Esther Croft, Development Director at Reef Group added: “This is set to create one of the UK’s first truly integrated digital societies and will provide the space and the infrastructure to build a seamless link between city centre living and working, in a new social and digital hub. We will shortly be putting forward more detailed plans and holding a public consultation for people to take a closer look.”

As part of the revitalisation of the city centre, work has already begun on transformation of Kings Square, which is supported with £5 million in investment from Gloucester City Council. This will ultimately create a new destination for regular cultural activities including live performances.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.