LEADING Forest businessmen have spoken out in favour of the development of the Northern Quarter near Cinderford.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has submitted a planning application for a £100m regeneration of the former mining site.

Director of Cinderford-based Grail Engineering, Julian Grail, said the opportunity presented by the projects "needs to be grabbed with both hands."

He said: "It's great to see money finally being spent in the area. "Cinderford has long been in need of investment, so it is superb to now see the area getting the support that it needs.

"Opening up the Northern United site will result in plenty of new opportunities being created to aid industrial growth, creating new jobs for local people as a result.

"It's now essential that the development partners involved proceed at speed. "The Northern Quarter's regeneration is a fantastic prospect and needs to be grabbed with both hands, by the developers and by local businesses looking to seize upon the opportunities that it creates."

Keith Bell, chairman of construction company KW Bell Group, is also backing the plans for a new college, employment and business space, a visitor centre and up to 195 new homes.

He said: "I'm certainly in favour of the plans for the area. An improved Cinderford will be a great boost for the Forest of Dean, and I think that the college in particular will have a significant impact, bringing investment and skills to the area that will in turn help make Cinderford an attractive prospect to businesses looking to relocate and invest."

College students, business leaders and former miners with a long-standing connection to Northern United have all indicated their support for the proposals.

GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership, a local body set up by government to support economic growth in Gloucestershire has approved £3.5m investment in infrastructure to support the second phase of the construction of the access road at the site.

The government has also provisionally allocated £3.8m through its Growth Deal agreement with the LEP to support future improvements to the Northern Quarter link road from 2016/17.

The new Northern Quarter would also benefit from BT's Fastershire superfast broadband project.

Graham Morgan, chairman of the Cinderford Regeneration Board, added: "The support from local businesses for the Northern Quarter project confirms what we have known for years.

"These companies have a long-standing connection to the Forest, understand the area and are committed to its success.

"We understand and share that commitment and I welcome their support. We continue to engage local businesses, environmental and community groups on three forums which regularly meet to discuss the project."

David Warburton, the HCA's head of area, added: "It is clear that local businesses see plenty of promise in the proposals for the Northern Quarter. We are committed to sustainable development on this site and have put forward proposals that would help bring much needed new jobs and help attract even more private investment to the area."

The HCA says extensive ground investigations have revealed no significant barriers to building on the site, where work could start later in the autumn if the plans are approved by the Forest of Dean District Council.