Hereford Enterprise Zone

The development of Skylon Park, Hereford Enterprise Zone, is entering its final stages – with investment in land and buildings of more than £50m in the last decade.

During 2020/21, work started to open up the North Magazine to make the 20 acre plot ready for development.  New investors are already on board including the city’s higher education institution NMITE.

The year also saw the official opening of Herefordshire’s new dedicated business incubation centre, following a £7.3m transformation of the historic former munitions site, the Shell Store.

The building, which was part-funded by a loan from the LEP’s Marches Investment Fund, is now home to business support service, the Marches Growth Hub, the Herefordshire Enterprise Zone team and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce. It provides a wealth of conferencing, meeting and office space as well as business advice and support to new and growing businesses choosing to locate here.

During the last year, a number of Skylon Park investors have chosen to expand further on the Zone, bringing in new foreign direct investment and creating additional jobs.

The zone’s Cyber Quarter, Midlands Centre for Cyber Security, a joint venture with the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire Council, part-funded by the LEP’s Growth Deal, officially opened its doors in December 2021.

During the last year, a number of Skylon Park investors have chosen to expand further on the zone, bringing in new foreign direct investment and creating additional jobs.

These include commercial property specialist Priority Space which is about to start its second phase of development – its first building is home to growing companies including US manufacturer Le Maitre Vascular and SureCare Hereford, which is creating 100 new jobs.

More than 54 acres of land has been sold or is committed to development, with 61,000 sq metres of work space already constructed or in the pipeline. Around 50 businesses are now located on the zone, employing more than 1,000 people with another 1,000 jobs expected to be generated by those companies as they grow.

Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security

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