BUSINESS leaders say more land should be made available to prevent companies leaving the area, following SuperGroup's decision to move their distribution hub away from the county.
Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce believes the planned departure of SuperGroup, which places 200 jobs under threat, highlights the need for more land for business expansion.
Chamber spokesman Robert Duncan said: "It is always sad to hear of the possible loss of jobs in the region whatever the reason, but in some ways even sadder when it is as a result of a success."
He said it was "always going to be difficult" for clothing firm SuperGroup to find a site in Gloucestershire as large as they now require.
Mr Duncan believes the "inevitable" move "highlights the need for an adequate supply of employment land to be made available – not only to attract new employers but to retain those we already have."
Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Gloucester's councils are currently working together to draw up a joint core strategy (JCS) outlining where thousands of houses will be built in the area in the next 20 years.
Mr Duncan hopes the plan will include setting aside land for businesses to expand.
He hopes the strategy "will address this and identify a variety of sites for the future".
"Gloucestershire has not got this sort of provision at the moment," he added.
"I am hoping that in the JCS there will be a big enough provision for this sort of thing."
Andrew North, chairman of the joint core strategy programme board, has reassured the business community that the plan will identify sites for "employment opportunities".
He said: "We want the joint core strategy area to have a strong reputation for being an attractive place in which to invest.
"To enable this, the strategy will allocate land for employment opportunities across the three areas and the preferred option consultation, which is scheduled for September, will map out the preferred allocation of these sites."
SuperGroup, the company behind popular high street brands like Superdry and Cult, announced its intention to move its distribution centre away from Barnwood and Gloucester Business Park to the Midlands last week.
Many of the 200 workers could find relocating to the new site at Burton-on-Trent impossible and as a result redundancy will be on the cards.
