Awful villainy close in hi-tech area (7,6)
I believe the answer is:
silicon valley
'hi-tech area' is the definition.
'awful villainy close' is the wordplay.
'awful' indicates anagramming the letters.
'villainy'+'close'='villainyclose'
'villainyclose' is an anagram of 'SILICON VALLEY'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for silicon valley that I've seen before include "Area where many IT companies are based" , "industrial area" , "Californian high-tech area" , "US microcircuit centre" .)