Weston hopes to tap into the £1billion national food and drink industry as plans for the FoodWorks SW took a step forward this week.
North Somerset Council’s executive on Tuesday agreed to begin the tendering process to find a suitable operator for the plant.
The FoodWorks will be built within the Junction 21 Enterprise Area and will allow businesses to develop new products and receive expert advice and support.
The meeting was told the nearest similar centre is in Shropshire.
Cllr Elfan Ap Rees said: “This is a really exciting project for North Somerset.
“We are quite keen to get an operator on board early in this programme before we start building the centre, rather than it coming in later and saying it wants that sink there or whatever.”
Most of the project will be funded by a £9.36million grant from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership. Building work is due to start in November.
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