ONE hundred and ninety high-value jobs are set to be created at Hereford's new Centre for Cyber Security, where construction will get under way in the new year.

Plans for the £9m project, which will make the region a magnet for high-tech firms, cleared a critical hurdle after Herefordshire Council approved the launch of a new joint venture company with the University of Wolverhampton to build the centre at Skylon Park.

The centre, which will open its doors in 2020, will establish Skylon Park and the region as a leading hub of cyber security excellence in a sector worth £2.8billion in this country and £86.6bn around the world.

Cllr David Harlow, Herefordshire Council cabinet member for economy and communications, said: “In Herefordshire, we have a very low level of unemployment, but our regional average wage is noticeably lower than many other regions of the country.

"It is our aim to invest in creating more knowledge-based and well-paid jobs throughout Herefordshire, and the new Centre for Cyber Security will help us achieve this.

"Cyber Security is a major growth industry and attracting well-paid experts to Herefordshire will bring significant value to our economy.”

Andrew Manning Cox, chairman of the Hereford Enterprise Zone, said the centre would be a key asset to Skylon Park as it continued to build a national reputation as an innovative, success-driven business community.

“This firmly underlines Skylon Park’s reputation as a home for the defence and security sectors, and will prove invaluable in helping us attract inward investment into the Enterprise Zone,” he said.

Under the agreement, the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire Council will make a total loan of £5 million to the new company, in return for a shareholding.

The University has secured part funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in conjunction with the Marches LEP Local Growth Fund.

The 2,000 sq m building will play a crucial role in the country’s fight against cyber crime and offer more than 1,000 sq m of research and development floorspace in three cyber laboratories, business space for 16 companies and form an integral element of the University’s Cyber Research Institute.