Forum to bring more development into Gloucester

A £107m development in Gloucester will be a catalyst to other regeneration in the city centre, according to a council leader.

The first major tenant Fasthosts has already moved 180 of its staff into the new Forum in December.

Gloucester City Council leader Jeremy Hilton said the local authority was now looking at the Spread Eagle Court building nearby to convert it into housing.

"We think because we've done all the work to get the Forum delivered, buildings in and around that area will start to see improvements and investment," Hilton said.

The Forum, part of the wider £200m regeneration of the city centre, was aimed at attracting cyber firms and bringing up to 1,500 jobs to the city, officials said.

Hilton told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "We're talking about a lot more people in that area, so, if there's more people there, if you're running a business there, you're going to get more business.

"People are looking at opening restaurants and things like that, which they probably wouldn't do before the Forum was built."

Gloucester City Council is also revamping King's Square and King's Walk Shopping Centre as part of plans to "transform" the city centre.

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