One hundred and fifty skilled jobs are set to be created in Gloucestershire with the expansion of a car parts manufacturer to the likes of BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and Honda.

Builders are currently on-site constructing the steel frame of the building for the expanding G-Tem (GTEKT Europe Manufacturing) business, owned by the giant Japanese firm Takao.

Already employing 500 staff on the Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, the manufacturing operation not only builds but designs major body parts for some of the world's biggest car marques.

What with Brexit on the horizon worrying the UK car industry this could be seen as a real vote of confidence in the business, which has already seen millions of pounds invested in it in recent years.

Rob Ellis, of SF Planning, which has offices in Gloucester and Cheltenham and has worked on the project with design, engineering and construction specialists, Takenaka Europe GmbH UK, said: "The approved scheme will be located on the opposite side of Hurricane Road to the existing 250,000 sqft facility, and will provide an additional 120,000 sqft of space initially, with the option to expand further in the future.

"The new factory is critical, not only to enable the growth of the business, but also to enhance the productivity of the existing factory at Gloucester Business Park.

"Furthermore, the expansion plans will allow G-TEM to create up to an additional 150 jobs, on top of the 500 already employed by the company."

He added: "This approval represents a real vote of confidence for the manufacturing industry in Gloucestershire, which is very much alive and well."

Those who know the former airfield now Arlington-owned business park at Brockworth will know this is among the very last pieces of land available for development for business use on the site.

G-Tem's new building is off Hurricane Road on the opposite side of the road to the firm's current premises.

Punchline revealed earlier this year how another adjacent site will shortly become the new home of Dowty Propellers, which was forced to relocate to a new base at Vantage Point in the Forest of Dean following a fire at its factory in 2015.

If its move goes to plan the company hopes to be on-site in its new premises in early 2019.

Read more: New factory will create 150 manufacturing jobs for Gloucestershire