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Ben Lowndes

Gravity – Look Ahead Summer 2022

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Since securing the adoption of the Local Development Order, the team have been continuing to engage with potential occupiers and emphasise the site’s‘ ready state’ for accelerated delivery.

The archaeological investigations have been completed and there is a robust approach to ecological management through the appropriate licencing.

The landscaping of the link road, called Enterprise Way, will take place in Autumn 2022 (the next planting season).

In parallel to this, work is ongoing to set up the systems, processes and delivery team to enable implementation with the Councils.

Early Works comprising site clearance, cut & fill excavation and stockpiling of imported piling mat material and piling mat material crushed on-site, has commenced with the appointment of Kelston Sparkes as Principle Contractor, Ashfield Solutions as Principle Designer and Environmental Clerk of Works, Ecology Solutions as Ecological Clerk of Works, Turner & Townsend as Project Manager and QS, Stantec as Civil Engineer and Cunningham Safety Consultants to provide independent Safety, Health and Environmental Audit Services.
The team is working under the remediation consent, recently modified and approved, to progress the Works and other associated onsite activities, over the summer months.

Onsite Activities

Importing recycled stone
Kelston Sparkes is importing repurposed construction-ready stone from the adjacent National Grid “T Pylon” Construction sites and stockpiling material, all of which will be used in a piling mat as part of the early works programme. Haulage routes will utilise the new Link Road as well as the secondary access to the East of the site, to avoid unnecessary impacts on local communities.


Repurposing existing concrete slab
Kelston Sparks will also be breaking up existing concrete slabs on-site and crushing concrete for reuse in piling mat.

The best use of material between two adjacent major projects and recycling of material on the site is part of a very significant Gravity initiative to Recover, Recycle, Repurpose and Reuse (4R’s) material and significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the Gravity Development. These recycled materials will enable fast-tracked delivery solutions to potential large-scale occupiers.

What to expect

• Hosting of VIP visitors
• Increased levels of activity on site
• Increased HGV deliveries to site vehicles will be using the purpose-built access road ‘Enterprise Way’ to reduce disruption to local communities

Contact us:

• In event of queries please contact Gravity directly at info@thisisgravity.co.uk
• To view our planning documentation please click here.

Delivery Group meeting – July 2021

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Partners discuss Bridgwater’s role in attracting Gravity investors

The positive impact of Gravity on projects to regenerate areas of Bridgwater and improve local transport infrastructure were among the key topics discussed at the project’s latest Delivery Group meeting on 15 July.

The group, which includes local and national partners, has been set up to facilitate the delivery of Gravity as an Enterprise Zone and the UK’s first smart campus and community. The group is meeting monthly as Gravity progresses with fresh plans to create over 4,000 jobs and attract international investment into the UK at the site in Sedgemoor between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington.

Bridgwater’s role in attracting high-value occupiers

Stuart Houlet, Assistant Director of Inward Investment and Growth for Sedgemoor District Council, started the session with a presentation about plans to regenerate areas of Bridgwater, which were given a boost by the town’s recent award of £22m from the government’s Town Fund. Projects to enhance the town include restoration of the historic docks area; the creation of a pedestrianised ‘Celebration Mile’ (stretching from the docks to railway station); a new Town Centre Park; and a 7-screen cinema.

Mike O’Dowd-Jones, Strategic Commissioner for Highways and Transport Services at Somerset County Council, explained how ‘levelling up’ funds could help fund projects to improve stretches of the A38 to improve Bridgwater’s connectivity with the surrounding areas.

The group went on to discuss the importance of these improvements to the local area in attracting investors to Gravity. Claire Pearce, Director of Planning and Economic Development at Gravity, underlined the project’s connection with Bridgwater and Gravity’s role in economic transformation of the locality, and support for a multi-modal transport strategy to link Gravity to the wider area.

Gravity’s community consultation   

With Gravity’s community consultation now concluded, Ben Lowndes, Managing Director (South West) at Social – the project’s engagement consultant – gave an overview of the engagement activities carried out, including five public webinars, two in-person events, and monthly community newsletters.

Finally, Sam Harper, Senior Associate Planner at Stantec, gave updates on Gravity’s transport and environmental strategies.

You can download the slides that were shared at the last Delivery Group meeting.

Gravity hosts community information webinar

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Gravity’s latest community webinar set out how the project to create the UK’s first smart campus will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a sustainable, employment-led community, placing Sedgemoor at the very heart of the country’s green economic recovery.

The webinar was an opportunity for people to find out more about the project and ask questions directly of the Gravity team. It covered the same content to compliment Gravity’s in-person drop-in community events held at the 37 Club on 19 and 23 June.

Director of Planning and Economic Development at Gravity, Claire Pearce started the session by explaining how Gravity would act as a catalyst for change and innovation in the region by providing a sustainable platform for national and international investment.

She detailed Gravity’s vision to be a beacon of clean (zero-carbon) growth that delivers local benefits, including 4,000+ new high-quality jobs and new training opportunities driven by a new era of advanced manufacturing facilities. Claire outlined how Gravity would be ‘an exceptional place’ that integrates work, homes, leisure and green space, supported by a sustainable transport system and smart technology.

Frazer Osment, Chair of LDA Design, discussed Gravity’s Design Guide and landscape strategy in more depth. He described a potential range of campus facilities to support the core commercial advanced manufacturing uses, including leisure and sports facilities, nurseries and café/ restaurants geared towards meeting the needs of the campus community as well as community amenities. Frazer underlined how these facilities would help attract high quality occupiers and be brought forward in ways to allow Gravity to bring the greatest social and economic benefits to Sedgemoor while respecting the local environment.

Finally, Jane Hirst, Planning Director at Stantec, talked about how Gravity would be delivered. She said the Gravity team intended to set out their updated proposals for the project in a Local Development Order (LDO), which is a form of planning permission that establishes overall standards and guidelines for a development.

Jane said an LDO would be progressed over the summer and then submitted to Sedgemoor District Council which would then consult communities and other stakeholders before considering it at the end of this year.

Jane also discussed how vital infrastructure, including a link road to connect Gravity to the A39, was being put in place now to bring the project forward as a viable commercial destination that is attractive to international investment.

‘Gravity: community information, which took place on 24 June 2021, was the fifth in a series of virtual public webinars about Gravity to be held throughout 2021 and is available in full as a recording. Each of these events concludes with a question and answer session and is part of an extensive process of engagement and consultation that aims to ensure that what is proposed for Gravity creates benefits for the local area and its communities. 

Members of the public are invited to stay up to date by signing-up for Gravity’s e-newsletter by contacting gravity@social.co.uk or calling 0330 1070 535.

Gravity releases new images of proposed smart campus

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Stunning new images of how the proposed smart campus at Gravity could look if plans to transform the site are approved have been shared with the public today (7 June 2021).

The pictures of a new smart community at Bridgwater, Somerset, are unveiled as Gravity launches a fresh conversation with local people, stakeholders and businesses about its future ambitions to regenerate the former ROF Bridgwater site.

Gravity is progressing with new plans for its smart campus, which will become a focal point for international investment and create more than 4,000 well paid jobs in clean growth sectors.

As neighbours, every household in Puriton and Woolavington has been directly invited to find out more about Gravity’s emerging plans and views are welcome from the wider Bridgwater area. People can do so this by visiting its website, signing up to a webinar or attending drop in events at the 37 Club.

“We want to create an exceptional place to drive the UK’s shift towards a zero-carbon economy, which places Sedgemoor at the centre of the national clean growth revolution,” said Gravity’s director of planning and economic development, Claire Pearce.

“We are sharing updated images with the public as part of a big conversation with the community about the rationale behind the refreshed approach to deliver a new era of jobs, the benefits a smart campus would bring in practice and what this would mean for local people.

“We’re looking forward to speaking with people and hearing their views.”

Benefits outlined in the information Gravity is sharing with the public from today include:

  • More than 4,000 new jobs in high value industries – advanced manufacturing, smart technology, robotics, data, energy and other highly skilled sectors.
  • A Business Charter to help local businesses respond to supply chain opportunities.
  • Improved bus services, walking and cycling connections and potential new passenger rail and freight links to benefit Puriton, Woolavington and the wider area.
  • New leisure and open spaces to support health and wellbeing.
  • Continued work with local schools and education providers to build resilience, create training opportunities and inspire new careers.
  • New and improved infrastructure for transport, energy digital connectivity and utilities.

These events in June will be followed by further, ongoing, engagement on Gravity’s plans later this year. People can register for updates by signing up to Gravity’s newsletter.

Councillor Gill Slocombe, Deputy Leader of Sedgemoor District Council and the portfolio-holder for Inward Investment and Growth, added: “Sedgemoor is not alone in facing significant challenges.

“We still do not know the full impacts from the pandemic and, at the same time, we’re facing climate emergencies that we must respond to now. Gravity can help the area respond to these challenges to build back better and greener.”

How people can get involved

Local residents, businesses and stakeholders can find out more about the vision for Gravity and provide their feedback by:

“I hope as many people as possible take the opportunity to find out more and speak with us over the coming weeks,” said Claire Pearce.

“Their feedback will play an important role in shaping our future plans to bring in investments, create jobs and provide learning opportunities that the UK and the South West needs.”

Delivery Group Meeting – May 2021

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Partners discuss Gravity’s plans to deliver a smart campus and community

Gravity’s aim to deliver a smart campus and community that integrates workspace, homes, leisure and green space was among the key topics discussed at the project’s latest Delivery Group meeting on 25 May.

The group, which includes local and national partners, has been set up to facilitate the delivery of Gravity as an Enterprise Zone and the UK’s first smart campus and community. The group is meeting monthly as Gravity progresses with fresh plans to create 4,000 jobs and attract international investment into the UK at the site between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington.

Creating pathways for local people to access opportunities

The meeting was kicked off with a presentation by Matt Tudor, Director of Commercial Development, Strategy & Partnership at Bridgwater and Taunton College (BTC). Matt explained how BTC is working in partnership with Gravity to create pathways for the local community to access the new opportunities created by Gravity. 

Matt talked about the need to ‘upskill’ adults and prepare post 16-year olds for a digital and greener future, creating a ‘pipeline of talent’ for potential occupiers. BTC’s role in facilitating partnerships between Gravity and other educational organisations, including universities, was also covered.

Delivering an integrated campus to attract high-value occupiers

Focusing on Sedgemoor, Stuart Houlet, Assistant Director of Inward Investment and Growth for Sedgemoor District Council, discussed the potential for Gravity to help transform the local economy by creating high-value, knowledge-based jobs. Stuart said that the smart, integrated campus offer would be key to attracting the high-value occupiers that will create these jobs. He also highlighted the need to create jobs with integrated leisure opportunities and homes, helping to reduce the need to travel.

David Warburton, Land Director at House by Urban Splash, went on to give a presentation about how the housebuilder creates characterful and sustainable neighbourhoods, using innovative designs and low-carbon Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Urban Splash has recently joined the Delivery Group in an advisory capacity as an industry leader in the built environment with a track record of delivering innovative places.

Frazer Osment, Chair of LDA Design, discussed the role leisure amenities and homes will play in creating a unique place to attract high-value occupiers, which place a premium on their workforce’s health and wellbeing.  

Emerging proposals for Gravity  

Sam Harper, Senior Associate Planner at Stantec, gave updates on Gravity’s emerging transport, environment and utilities strategies as the team prepares the Local Delivery Order (LDO) proposal for Sedgemoor District Council’s consideration.

Other matters discussed at the session included parameter plans and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, as well as an updated description of the project (from a planning point of view) and proposed land uses.

Events: have your say about Gravity

A community webinar was held on the topic of creating a smart community on 26 May. The fourth in a series of webinars to explain Gravity’s ambitions to deliver community benefits and drive the UK’s economy towards a zero-carbon future.

You can download the slides that were shared at the last Delivery Group meeting.

Gravity engages with industry leaders to attract high value jobs

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Inholm, Northstowe, built by House by Urban Splash, won a Housing Design Award in 2020

Gravity, the project to create the UK’s first smart campus, is ramping up collaboration with the local community and industry experts to explore how best to create a new employment-led community on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) between Puriton and Woolavington.

Gravity aims to deliver a ‘clean’ (net-zero carbon) campus to create 4,000+ jobs. To attract the best businesses, which would bring the highest value jobs and greatest benefits for local communities, Gravity is creating plans that integrates employment space, homes, leisure and green space, supported by smart technology and sustainable transport.

The Gravity team is engaging with innovative businesses from across the built environment sector to explore the types of homes that could be created as part of the smart campus.

Among those businesses consulted is modern housebuilder House by Urban Splash; the business is a part of the Urban Splash family of companies and has track record in using modern methods of construction (MMC) to deliver zero or low carbon communities across the country. MMC is a new way of building.  Using new techniques, including building homes offsite to assemble at Gravity, MMC can improve the quality and efficiency of new homes.

Gravity is engaging with business leaders like this to explore potential design solutions that will help create sustainably-designed homes as part of an integrated, employment-led community, which promotes healthy lifestyles by reducing the need for future residents to commute, and attracts the very best occupiers to the site to the benefit of the local area.

Claire Pearce, Director of Planning and Economic Planning at Gravity, explains: “Gravity is not ‘business as usual’; we are seeking to create a new and inclusive community that offers people the choice of a lifestyle where you can live, work and play in one exceptional place.  This offering of an integrated, smart campus is important if Gravity is to create the optimum conditions for investment and attract high-quality international occupiers, creating 4000+ new jobs. 

“It is fantastic to be working with innovative leaders from across the built environment sector, learning about their experiences and taking inspiration from their track records in creating great, design-led communities.”

Cllr Gill Slocombe, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Inward Investment and Growth for Sedgemoor District Council, added: “We are excited to see Gravity engaging with innovative industry leaders. As a pro-business area, we want Gravity’s smart campus and community to attract high value occupiers that can work with us to transform the area and create opportunities for our communities.  

“Modern methods of construction offer great potential. These new ways of building are already feeding into Bridgwater and Taunton College’s curriculum for construction courses, inspiring Sedgemoor’s young people to think about future careers in this innovative space.”  

Gravity’s next community webinar, ‘Gravity: creating a smart community’ will discuss how Gravity aims to create an inclusive, employment-led community that considers the wellbeing of people, as well as the planet. Taking place on 26 May 2021, you can join the discussion by registering here to join the webinar, or visit: https://thisisgravity.co.uk/community-join-the-conversation/

Ends

For more information, please contact Tori Madine at 07508 917 477 or tori.madine@social.co.uk.

Notes to editors

Image: Inholm, Northstowe, built by House by Urban Splash, won a Housing Design Award in 2020, from Urban Splash

About Gravity

Gravity will be the UK’s first commercial smart campus and a blueprint for a ‘cleaner’, smarter future. It aims to attract the world’s most innovative companies working in the ‘clean growth’ sectors.

Based on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory, between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington, Gravity will be home to businesses making a difference socially, economically, and environmentally. The aim is to drive the UK’s shift towards a zero-carbon economy, placing Sedgemoor at the centre of the clean growth revolution – benefitting local villages, the town of Bridgwater, and the wider region.

Expected to create around 4,000 jobs, the 616-acre Enterprise Zone will be designed to shape connections between people and the places they work, supporting a culture of innovation and wellbeing. It will include diverse, flexible workspaces and resilient technologies along with enhanced transport links to, and within, the surrounding area.

For further information, visit https://thisisgravity.co.uk/

House by Urban Splash For further information visit: https://www.housebyurbansplash.co.uk/

Delivery Group Meeting – April 2021

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Partners discuss how Gravity will kickstart a green economy      

Gravity’s role in driving the UK’s transition to a zero-carbon economy was among the key topics discussed at the project’s latest Delivery Group meeting on 20 April.

The Delivery Group, which includes local and national partners, has been set up to facilitate the delivery of Gravity as an Enterprise Zone and the UK’s first smart campus and community. The group is meeting monthly as Gravity progresses with fresh plans to create 4,000 jobs and attract international investment into the UK at the site between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington.

In his presentation, Jonathan Riggall, Director at Stantec, gave an overview of Gravity’s clean and inclusive growth strategy. He explained how the project aims to be a catalyst for regional change and innovation, creating high-value jobs in ‘future-proof’ sectors such as advanced manufacturing, robotics and R&D. Jonathan also talked about the project’s wider role within the government’s ten-point plan for a ‘green industrial revolution’.
Upskilling and meeting businesses’ needs
Sam Harper, Senior Associate Planner at Stantec, gave an update on the plans to deliver the project.
Sam also explained the need for Gravity to compete on an international stage to attract the most innovative, clean growth companies. He said that a key part of Gravity’s offering would be its access to, and development of, local and national talent.  
Sam outlined how the project is forming partnerships with organisations such as the University of Bristol and Bridgwater and Taunton College (BTC) to further enhance local and regional talent pools and showcase new training and career opportunities. Sam said Hinkley Point C, the largest construction project in Europe, was a testament the region’s potential to deliver, and resource, largescale projects.

A healthy and inclusive community
Other matters discussed at the session included emerging plans for how the site will include leisure and amenity space and integrate with its surrounding natural environment. The vision is to ensure that the people who live and work at Gravity, as well as the local communities, have access to green, active, and healthy space.

A community webinar was held on the topic of a green economy on 21 April. The third in a series of webinars to explain Gravity’s ambitions gave people the opportunity to understand the benefits the plans could help the UK to unlock. 

Gravity will hold a fourth webinar on the subject of creating a smart community on 26 May, which is open to all members of the community and local businesses. Anyone who’s interested in joining us and feeding in your ideas about how Gravity can support the creation of a smart and connected community, can register. You can download the slides here that were shared at the last Delivery Group meeting

Gravity launches design competition for Sedgemoor students

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Gravity is teaming up with two educational charities to launch a design competition that aims to encourage local youngsters to get involved with the project to create the UK’s first smart campus and community.

Gravity, which is based on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) between Puriton and Woolavington, is launching the Gravity Young Persons’ Design Challenge in partnership with Bounce Forward, a charity dedicated to teaching young people resilience as a life skill, and the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE), a charity founded by architect and TV Presenter George Clarke to inspire young people to rethink about the way we design and build places and communities, and offering them a window into a future career in the built environment.

Primary and secondary schools, and colleges across Sedgemoor are being invited to take part in the competition to imagine and design what kind of a place Gravity will be to achieve its vision of creating a zero-carbon community that integrates work, rest and play.  

Claire Pearce, Director of Planning and Economic Development at Gravity, comments: “Gravity is committed to ensuring that this landmark project delivers benefits to the local community, even at this very early stage. We’re excited to be working with Bounce Forward and MOBIE, and engaging with local schools and colleges, to take advantage of the educational opportunities that Gravity is already creating.

“As a project which will create over 4000 jobs, it is important to think about how we can reduce the need to travel to work, what we can include as part of the scheme to help local people access work opportunities, and how to design in integrated homes and leisure opportunities, as part of a new integrated, and sustainable community.

“Through this competition, we’re encouraging young people to think about place making; what do they want from Gravity and places of the future? What kind of workspaces and homes create a happy, healthy and well-connected place to live and work?”

The challenge

Students will be challenged to design a zero-carbon home in a new employment led community that reflects Gravity’s vision of being clean and inclusive, considering the wellbeing of people, the community, and the planet. Youngsters will need to show their home in the context of its wider place, including connections to work, green space and transport links, and how smart technology would be used to support new ways of living.  

George Clarke, MOBIE founder, says, “I am delighted that we are launching this exciting design challenge for schools in Sedgemoor, to create a new home and place on the ground-breaking Gravity smart campus and community – a place for clean, advanced manufacturing industries and for people to live, a new place to live, work and play.  

“By harnessing the talents, ideas and energy of the young people of today we can change the way we create places and how we build homes. The amazing student designs that I know will flow from this challenge will show that we have a future generation with the talent and the imagination to really make a difference for people and the planet.”

Support for students and teachers

MOBIE and Bounce Forward have already hosted a webinar to provide participating schools with information and support about how to get involved. Further webinars for schools are available on request. Bounce Forward will also run three webinars aimed at secondary school students to support their involvement with the competition and personal resilience. In addition, Bounce Forward will run webinars to support teachers’ personal development.

Lucy Bailey, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Bounce Forward, explains: “Our overall aim is to help young people develop resilience, not just to overcome setbacks, but to solve problems and think creatively. In the context of this competition, we want to support students, and their teachers, to be open and curious to new perspectives and have the confidence to let their imaginations go.” 

Cllr Gill Slocombe, Deputy Leader of Sedgemoor District Council, adds: “This competition presents a wonderful opportunity for young people to get involved with Gravity – a project of national and international importance located here in their local area. As plans emerge to create this innovative and sustainable community in Sedgemoor, it’s important we listen to what young people want from Gravity, and for their future.”

The Gravity Young Persons’ Design Challenge has three age categories, 9-11, 12-15 and 16-18. The finalists will be announced on 18 June and the winners revealed at an event to take place in June or July 2021 (details to be confirmed). For more information, visit: https://www.mobie.org.uk/challenges/gravity

 

About Gravity

Gravity will be the UK’s first commercial smart campus and a blueprint for a ‘cleaner’, smarter future. It aims to attract the world’s most innovative companies working in the ‘clean growth’ sectors.

Based on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory, between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington, Gravity will be home to businesses making a difference socially, economically, and environmentally. The aim is to drive the UK’s shift towards a zero-carbon economy, placing Sedgemoor at the centre of the clean growth revolution – benefitting local villages, the town of Bridgwater, and the wider region.

Expected to create around 4,000 jobs, the 616-acre Enterprise Zone will be designed to shape connections between people and the places they work, supporting a culture of innovation and wellbeing. It will include diverse, flexible workspaces and resilient technologies along with enhanced transport links to, and within, the surrounding area.

For further information, visit https://thisisgravity.co.uk/

About MOBIE

Architect and TV Presenter George Clarke founded the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE) in 2017 to inspire young people to revolutionise the way we think about homes. We need younger generations to define how they want to live now and in the future, and MOBIE helps them do it.

https://www.mobie.org.uk/

About Bounce Forward

Bounce Forward is a national charity that delivers inspiring and practical training programmes to support young people to reach their full potential in life. The charity believes that teaching resilience skills should sit alongside academic lessons and have spent 13 years working directly with more than 1,800 schools and delivering research to evidence what they do.

Core principles

  • Resilience is not just about overcoming setbacks, it’s also about making the most of opportunities
  • We base our approach and training on solid research, theory and evidence
  • We teach skills and strategies that work in the real world
  • The adults matter: their role is vital in helping children and young people be resilient and thrive

https://bounceforward.com

 

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