Plans to regenerate Cinderford by bringing new housing, jobs and improved educational facilities to the Forest of Dean have received a £4.5 million investment boost from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The national housing and regeneration agency has invested in two projects, which focus on the key elements identified in plans to regenerate the town and create opportunities across the district.

The funding provided by the HCA includes:

A grant to the Forest of Dean District Council of almost £2 million, which enables it to acquire the Ensors abattoir site in Valley Road in a move which will unlock it for the development of a mix of new and affordable housing. It also helps secure the expansion of the business by enabling it to move to a new unit on the Forest Vale Industrial Estate, safeguarding 130 jobs at the company and creating new ones in the process. The HCA has been working with partners on the proposed delivery of around 100 homes on the Valley Road site as part of the wider regeneration of the area.

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A £2.5 million investment to support Gloucestershire College's plans to improve its provision in the Forest. This investment enables the college to look at long-term options as part of their planned estates strategy, which includes investing in the current Coleford campus, creating a new education hub in the Northern Quarter area of Cinderford or building elsewhere in the Forest of Dean. The investment comes just after the college finalised its merger with the former Royal Forest of Dean College in a move which safeguarded further education provision in the district.

(CD/KMcA)