SKYLON Park has created 300 new jobs in Herefordshire to date, delighting business and council leaders.

The figures reveal a total of 51 jobs have been created in the Hereford Enterprise Zone in Rotherwas thanks to the four incoming companies, and the site has attracted 33 new companies from within the county, creating 237 full-time and casual jobs.

The latest figures were revealed in a freedom of information request.

A spokesperson for Zone said: “Attracting and retaining these exciting, dynamic businesses, which includes the latest £5m investment creating 50 new jobs at KGD Engineering, is key to the ongoing success of Skylon Park.

“Last year saw the relocation of GB Electrical to the Zone, a move which ensured the company and its 170 staff remained in the city.”

Skylon Park was designated by the Government as one of 48 Enterprise Zones designed to boost local growth and create jobs in 2012.

Construction started on the site at Rotherwas in autumn 2013, and five years on Skylon Park has welcomed 37 new companies.

A spokesman for Herefordshire Council added: “Since the launch of Skylon Park, 37 businesses have moved onto the site investing over £16 million in construction alone.

The total Zone workforce of 635 includes 288 new jobs created by these businesses as part of their location and expansion on the zone.

Of these totals, 4 businesses have relocated from outside of Herefordshire, bringing more than 50 new jobs to the county.

“As well as promoting inward investment, supporting the growth and development of local businesses continues to be a hugely important part of this project, in order to encourage long term, sustainable benefit to Herefordshire’s economy.

“We are pleased that many local companies have also been investing in their long term future within the county, along with the future of their employees, by basing themselves on the zone." 

Currently being promoted on the Zone is a £105m development opportunity at two premier locations, Skylon North Magazine and Skylon South.

The North Magazine comprises 10 hectares and by early 2020 will be home to a £7m Business Incubation Centre including development space for businesses to interact with a new university being created in Hereford, specialising in engineering.

Skylon South comprises four hectares as a next phase development with immediate access onto the dedicated access road linking to the trunk road network.

It will be adjoining a new £9m centre dedicated to Cyber Security business and research, built by the University of Wolverhampton and due to be opened in late 2019.

Due to the proximity of the UK special forces base, QinetiQ at Malvern Science Park and GCHQ at Cheltenham, the area is known for its specialism in defence and security, and the Cyber Centre will add to that asset base.