Where will new Tata Somerset gigafactory be built? Drone images show rumoured 616-acre Gravity site
A giant new gigafactory is set to be built in Somerset and it is expected to be one of the biggest buildings in the UK by footprint when it is completed. The £4bn plant, which will be built by Tata, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, will be at the forefront of electric car battery manufacturing in the UK – but where exactly will it be located?
While Tata has yet to confirm the location of the site, it is understood that it will be constructed at Gravity, a 616-acre “smart campus” just off the M5 motorway[1] next to the village of Puriton in Somerset. Bridgwater[2] is the nearest large town to Gravity.
Gravity business park is located on a former Royal Ordnance Factory site where the wartime bouncing bomb was loaded with high explosives. The site has been meticulously cleared, cleaned and repurposed.
The site features a direct link road to junction 23 of the M5, as well as purpose-built on-site freight and passenger rail terminals, and direct access to Bristol sea port. The business park will also feature dark fibre internet connectivity, low carbon on-site energy solutions and water abstraction facilities from the adjacent River Huntspill.
Drone photos show the full extent of the giant Gravity site. You see images of the location below.
The 616-acre Gravity business park at Puriton near Bridgwater
The 616-acre Gravity business park at Puriton near Bridgwater
“Green bridge” over the new link road connecting Gravity to the M5
The Gravity site features a direct link road to junction 23 of the M5 and purpose-built on-site freight and passenger rail terminals, as well as links to local educational establishments
The site is also ideally placed within commutable distance of a number of well-regarded educational establishments. It is located near to the University of Bristol, the University of West England, the University of Bath, the University of Exeter and Bridgwater and Taunton College.
A brochure for the Gravity site states: “We are creating a smart campus bursting with business acumen and with a serious commitment to low carbon. Throw in incredible facilities surrounded by natural beauty and you have one of the most amazing places to work in Europe.
“There is no other UK site ready to be developed at such scale and speed, with everything in place for tomorrow’s innovators to grow today. With its on-site clean energy solutions, dark fibre, excellent transport links, accessible talent pool and knowledge economy– including four top-tier universities close by, Gravity provides occupiers with the ability to build, expand and develop faster and more efficiently.”
References
- ^ the M5 motorway (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Bridgwater (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Tata Somerset gigafactory: Work could start ‘very quickly’ at £4bn battery plant, MP reveals (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Tata Somerset gigafactory: ‘Breakthrough’ £4bn car battery plant hailed as ‘fantastic news’ (www.somersetlive.co.uk)