Plans for an innovation hub which forms part of £3.1million project in the centre of Cheltenham have been approved.

Cheltenham Borough Council has given the all clear to the hub on the site of the existing Chester Walk car park site.

The 2,000sq ft innovation centre by Workshop Cheltenham, which includes a GFirst LEP growth hub, headquarters for Cheltenham Festivals and cafe plus community spaces, is part of the wider Minster Innovation Exchange project.

The low carbon modular construction is designed to deliver co-working space and provide a purpose-built performance, event and community venue, connect to the High Street from the Cheltenham Minster grounds and act as a pilot for developments at the Cyber Park.

It will provide a training room and a number of meeting zones with open plan offices which can be subdivided as required.

The Minster Innovation Exchange received the £3.1million funding via GFirst LEP as part of the Government's Getting Building Fund for shovel-ready projects.

If was one of five projects in Gloucestershire which were awarded a share of £11.3million earlier this month.

The others were the Gloucestershire Applied Digital Skills Centre at Cirencester College (£4.48million), Cyber Incubation Units at Gloucestershire College (£950,000), Digital Innovation Farm at Hartpury University (£1.25million) and Construction Education Centre in the Forest of Dean with construction firm KW Bell Group (£1.96million).

A further £4.875million is being invested into the projects, which are predicted to create 959 jobs and safeguard a further 82, by the public and private sector.