UP to 200 new jobs could be created at Malvern Hills Science Park, thanks to a long-awaited £5 million grant.

The money, from Advantage West Midlands, means work on the park's third phase is set to start in the new year.

The project will offer up to 14 units for technology-based companies in a new building on the site. The grant covers most of the estimated £6m cost.

The first two phases of the science park, which opened in 1999, are already full and the new building will allow further expansion.

Planning permission was granted in October last year, but until now, the funding has not been certain.

Nigel Shaw, manager of the science park, said: "We're absolutely delighted and very grateful to AWM.

"The new phase is set to become a landmark for sustainable building design and raises standards for future developments."

He said efforts to attract tenants for the new building could now begin.

The planning permission includes traffic-calming measures in the roads around the site.

These include alterations at the junction of Barnards Green Road and Poolbrook Road, new crossings at the Poolbrook Road/Geraldine Road junction and a right-hand-turn lane at the Barnards Green Road/Geraldine Road junction.

A cycle path linking the science park with the Townsend Way area is also envisaged.

The Highways Partnership is to consult residents of Geraldine Road about the possibility of traffic-calming measures in the road itself.