Advantage West Midlands has received the green light from Bromsgrove District Council to move ahead with construction work on the 23-acre Bromsgrove Technology Park.

News of the approval means that work on infrastructure to put roads and services into the site can now begin.

AWM has spent the past two years preparing the land for development in partnership with the council and Persimmon Homes.

Persimmon Homes owns a site adjacent to the park which will be developed for housing.

Bromsgrove Technology Park is one of the flagship projects in the Central Technology Belt and is the first site under the scheme to have gained planning approval to begin construction. The Belt is a high technology corridor linking Birmingham with South Worcestershire which aims to create long term technology-driven business opportunities for the region.

The Park, which will be built on land formerly owned by United Engineering Forgings, aims to create a community of companies that will all use technology as an integral part of their business. It is hoped that a mixture of established and start up firms will be attracted to the site.

The Park is expected to create around 350 jobs. Infrastructure on the site is set for completion in summer 2006 and plots, ranging up to five acres, are now being marketed to owner-occupiers or developers.

AWM said there was already considerable interest in the site and negotiations about a planned business incubator unit were at an advanced stage, as were discussions with three other companies.

John Edwards, chief executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: "The idea of technology belts in the West Midlands was born out of the original Rover Task Force.

"We know that around 600 former Rover employees live in the Bromsgrove area so this is especially good news in the longer-term for employment prospects in the area."

Alan Folwell, chief executive of the CTB, said: ''A priority for the Central Technology Belt is to drive diversification of our manufacturing base through business and industry exploiting the wealth of high technology research and development expertise that exists in the region's universities and research organisations.

"This new technology park will provide exactly the right kind of accommodation for these new knowledge-based businesses and is therefore crucial in helping achieve our aims.''

Councillor Dennis Norton, leader of Bromsgrove District Council, said: " We are delighted to be working with Advantage West Midlands on this leading edge project. The Bromsgrove economy is already strong and we look forward to the future with confidence."

Bromsgrove Technology Park is one of a number of key strategic sites in the Central Technology Belt. Others include the Longbridge Technology Park and the Malvern Hills Science Park.