Plans for a food and drink innovation centre in Weston-super-Mare are one step closer to becoming a reality.

At a North Somerset Council meeting on Tuesday, executive members agreed to sign over four acres of its land at the Junction 21 Enterprise Area to create a food and drink innovation centre.

The council will now seek full funding to build the centre from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, which deputy leader Elfan Ap Rees said has been agreed ‘in principle’.

It is hoped the building will bring 500 jobs to Weston and, once it is running, will contribute £25million a year to the local economy. It is hoped the centre will open in the summer of 2018.