The second phase construction of The Forum, a £107m technology and digital campus located in Gloucester, a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England is set to commence next month, following the selection of Kier Group plc, a British construction, services, and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services and the Private Finance Initiative, as the projects main contractor.
Read also: SeAH Wind to invest US$ 405+ in Teesside’s monopile factory
Lined up is the scheme’s main campus that includes a 135,000 sq ft of grade A workspace together with a 130-room four-star hotel, digital conference facilities, rooftop restaurant and bar, a 9,000 sq ft wellness center, and a member’s club. As part of the contract, Kier will also develop a physical and virtual on-site learning center to offer training and job opportunities for the residents.
The scheme will also help local social enterprises and local SME businesses with the well-established relationships that have evolved from working with Gloucester City Council on previous schemes.
Remarks on The Forum main contractor
Esther Croft, the Reef Group’s development director, said that Kier’s dedication to sustainability, learning, and employment opportunities and its long-standing connection to Gloucestershire made it the perfect contractor to construct The Forum.
“Very essentially for us, Kier is determined to help the local residents to access all these modern training and employment opportunities that will be brought by the building initiative. The new learning center will help ascertain that the local residents can benefit directly from The Forum in the near future, as well as the digital campus acting to bring talent from the entire UK in the years to come,” explained Mrs. Croft.
Andy Bolas, the regional director for Kier Construction Western & Wales on the other hand said, “Working with Gloucester City Council and Reef Group, we look forward to creating this flagship digital hub that is set to be a bonfire for cyber security and technology businesses in the southwest. The learning center is also a distinctive and enduring legacy that aims to offer sustainable job and training opportunities for the Gloucester residents.”
