Dubbed The Forum, Gloucester is set to host one of the largest digital quarters in the UK, with more details of the £85m Kings Quarter project being revealed in September 2020.
With work expected to start in 2021, The Forum is described as creating ‘a vibrant new social and digital campus for the south west’, as well as acting as a ‘catalyst for an emerging digital and cyber security sector’.
Developed by Reef Group, in partnership with Gloucester City Council, the 600,000 sq ft masterplan for The Forum includes more than 125,000 sq ft of new office space, as well as a shared workspace club and an innovation hub 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 apartments, a multi-storey car park, alongside over one acre of public realm and landscaping work.
Richard Graham, MP for Gloucester said: ‘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.
More detailed plans of The Forum and a public consultation are due to be held soon.
Follow SoGlos on LinkedIn and sign-up to the weekly SoGlos business newsletter for the very latest Gloucestershire business news stories.
