Watch Gravity’s ‘Delivering Clean Growth’ ICE’s SW webinar

Gravity with our link road contractor, Alun Griffiths recently delivered a presentation to the Institute of Civil Engineering. The presentation highlighted how our partnership has enabled Gravity to deliver more sustainable growth while promoting innovation.

Programme Director, Paul Lowndes gave an overview of progress to date and outlined how 145,000 tonnes of site won material has been recycled and used to construct the link road.

Watch the webinar below

Link Road Update – 18th November

Gravity and Alun Griffiths will be hosting the next Link Road Q&A session virtually if you want to understand more about work happening at Gravity? Be sure to join us online for those virtual Q&A community drop-in sessions.

The location may have changed, but the opportunity to ask any question on the Link Road has not.

Paul Lowndes, Gravity Programme Director runs these informative sessions with the help of Alun Griffiths and Stantec. They will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the progress of the link road.

These sessions are open to all.

Gravity presents at ICE’s SW webinar

Gravity and Alun Griffiths to present to the Institue of Civil Engineering

Gravity is proud to join our link road contractor, Alun Griffiths in a unique presentation to the Institute of Civil Engineering. The presentation will highlight how our partnership with Alun Griffiths enables Gravity to deliver more sustainable growth while promoting innovation.

Programme Director, Paul Lowndes will give an overview of progress to date and outline how some 145,000 tonnes of site won material has been recycled and used to construct the link road.

The webinar is free to watch, click here to book your spot.

Webainar Details

Wednesday 21st October

1pm-2pm

About Gravity

Link Road Q&A – 14th October

Traditionally our Q&A drop-in sessions have been held at the 37 Club, due to changing government guidelines, Gravity and Alun Griffiths will be hosting the next Link Road Q&A session virtually, if you want to understand more about work happening at Gravity? Be sure to join us online for those virtual Q&A community drop-in sessions.

The location may have changed, but the opportunity to ask any question on the Link Road has not.

Paul Lowndes, Gravity Programme Director runs these informative sessions with the help of Alun Griffiths. They will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the progress of the link road.

These sessions are open to all, so if you have any questions or want to know more about our project, just click on the link below at a time most suited to yourself.

September 2020 Newsletter

Highlights

  • Gravity endorses the South West’s capacity to lead the UK’s ‘green recovery’ with an open letter to the Chancellor
  • Progress on the Link Road continues apace; the focus over the summer has been forming the landscape bund
  • Local Development Order on track
  • Continued efforts to place Clean Growth at the centre of Gravity with proven evidence from delivering a successful material management strategy, and sponsoring the ‘Environmental Achievement Award’ at the 2021 Somerset Business Awards 
  • Discussions with world-leading companies are ongoing, keep an eye on our social channels for announcements 

Open Letter to the Chancellor

Martin Bellamy and Lord David Triesman, Gravity Directors, penned an open letter to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak on 8 September, outlining the urgency of support need to support UK innovation. Gravity firmly believes the South West has the foundations in place to become a hub capable of fostering clean and inclusive economic growth. Read the open letter here.


Link Road Update

Over the summer, our focus has been on forming the landscape bund. 145,000 tonnes of blast mound material has been recovered and transported from the site to the link road. When complete, the landscape bund will act as a noise and visual barrier between activity on the link road and the local community. The recycled material used on the link road forms part of our sustainable materials management strategy, click here to find out more.


Local Development Order on-track

We are delighted with the progress to date and thank Sedgemoor District Council for drafting a Local Development Order for the Gravity enterprise zone.

We have developed our approach to clean and inclusive growth and how we are going to start to translate our vision into action.  Our first delivery group meeting will be on 7 October with our partners and we look forward to sharing more updates with you shortly.


Recover, Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse

Our commitment to developing a leading smart campus underpinned by clean growth starts with its foundations. Evidence of Gravity’s successful material management strategy, created in partnership with Ashfield Solutions, is explored in an interview with Gravity’s Programme Director, Paul Lowndes.

“Our partnership with Ashfield Solutions ensures that Gravity has and continues to recover, reuse, recycle and repurpose all suitable on-site materials. This has significantly reduced disruption in surrounding communities and reduced our carbon footprint. We hope this strategy and its environmental considerations will guide more low-carbon developments across the UK

Paul Lowndes

Plans Progress for Knowle Hill

Knowle Hill event

Gravity recently outlined plans for the development of six low-carbon homes at Knowle Hill. Find out more about the proposals here.

We look forward to hearing your views – leave your feedback by emailing the team.


Our Rail Plans

A £50million railway restoration is at the heart of Gravity. Network Rail’s feasibility study confirms the rail link will connect passengers and freight to Bristol, Bristol Port, Exeter and beyond, and is both deliverable and has sufficient paths to run the new rolling stock. Read more information on the railway project.


Gravity sponsors ‘Environmental Achievement Award’ at Somerset Business Awards 2021

Gravity sponsors Environmental Award

Gravity is proud to be sponsoring the newly added ‘Environmental Achievement Award‘ at the next Somerset Business Awards, organised by the Somerset Chamber of Commerce.

Entries close midday 27 November, the ceremony will take place on March 26, 2021. The awards are free to enter and businesses do not need to be a member of the Chamber to take part.


Gravity in the media

Gravity Chairman, Martin Bellamy was interviewed on Wake up to Money, BBC 5 Live. The discussion centered on current business affairs, Gravity’s ambition for advanced manufacturing in the UK and the future of Apple and Tesla.  Listen here.


Events

Gravity Chairman, Martin Bellamy joins the Real Estate Live UK – South West Panel.

The discussion ‘Steering Growth to the South West‘ will ask incisive questions about the key drivers of growth for the South West and evaluate the successful implementation of initiatives designed to stimulate investment in the region.  Find out more.

Martin Bellamy: Joins Real Estate Live UK’s South West panel

Gravity Chairman, Martin Bellamy, will be joining the Keynote South West panel at the upcoming ‘Real Estate Live UK‘ online conference, taking place 9th October.

The discussion ‘Steering Growth to the South West‘ will ask incisive questions around the key drivers of growth for the South West and evaluate the successful implementation of initaives designed to stimulate investment in the region.

Across the UK we have the Northern Powerhouse, the Midlands Engine, and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, but what is the combined pull and what are the key drivers of growth for the South West? Over recent years there have been initiatives in place to stimulate investment across the region – how successful have these been, where is the South West seeing significant development, and which sectors are predicted to expand its economy?

To book tickets for this event click here.

The pull of Gravity – the railway project at the heart of major new Smart Campus

A £50 million railway restoration is at the heart of the UK’s first commercial Smart Campus, redefining the way we work, live and play for a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Gravity will see 635-acres, with direct access to Junction 23 of the M5, transformed into a flagship Smart Campus.

Network Rail has confirmed in a now completed feasibility study that the rail link will connect both passengers and freight to Bristol, Exeter, Bristol Port and beyond, and is both deliverable and has sufficient paths to run the new rolling stock.

The Smart Campus will be served by the Gravity HUB – an integrated transport mobility centre at the heart of the site. It will connect strategic infrastructure with mobility as a service and where interconnection of the rail will maximise the use of future micro-mobility.

Providing an ‘end to end’ transport solution, creating access to new opportunities, it will be facilitated by a Gravity travel app, reducing commuting by road and attracting new employers and employees from urban areas via the rail network.

Gravity will also provide a test bed for micro mobility product development and trials, with the ability to manufacture and distribute to the wider UK and beyond via on site rail freight.

There will also be the opportunity to host university
partners to participate in live lab trials and transport research, examine, experiment with and advise on travel behaviours within the surrounding sub-region along the M5 Growth Corridor.

“Now, more than ever before, our world needs new thinking and new technologies to solve some of our most pressing economic, environmental and societal challenges. That is why we created Gravity. The high quality natural landscape mixed with exciting opportunities for leisure, creates a wonderful location for business and their employees, on a scale never seen before in the UK.”

Tom Curtis – Co-CEO of Gravity

As for the site generally, Gravity will shape the economic future of the South West of England and beyond with the creation of 4,000 jobs with new key worker housing and serviced accommodation to support the site.

The team behind this smart campus are committed to ensuring that Gravity will be at the leading edge of sustainable transport and mobility providing walking, cycling and public transport options to the site and future mobility options on the site, now.

Pioneering approaches to sustainable smart mobility are a critical element at Gravity. The vision ensures a large part of both freight and passengers are brought to and from site by rail with the objective to restore the former rail connection to Gravity. This will link to the main line connecting to Bristol and Exeter and Bristol Port tipped to be one of the ‘freeports’ announced later this year.
This ‘freeport’ status combined with innovative digital architecture led by Bristol University through the 5G Create programme and rail restoration from Bristol Port to Gravity will open up a new advanced manufacturing destination for inward investment.

“Gravity exemplifies the UK’s ambition to decarbonise, diversify and grow our economy, as a progressive approach to a changing climate. As the UK transitions to a low-carbon future, the grand challenges of digital, clean growth and the future of mobility will play an integral role in meeting our commitments at Gravity whilst aligned with the Government’s industrial strategy.”

Lord David Triesman – Director of Gravity

This is a future element to drive efficient, cost effective and future-proofed distribution of freight to and from the site by connecting it to Bristol deep sea port, and the rest of the country, and also ensures the employment capture for the site includes the cities of Exeter and Bristol within 45 minutes. This element is vital to reduce reliance on road transport for both freight and employees.

Gravity has ambitious deliverables, drawing on the foundations of the investment made through national infrastructure projects in Somerset, to further the legacy into sustainable economic growth for the South West: Gravity is already well on their way and welcome support in working to explore this potential and to accelerate delivery to connect people and places to new opportunities – linking cities and people to jobs – using end to end micro-mobility enabled by strategic transport.

“Bridgwater is an industrial heartland. When BAE shut up shop, we didn’t want a piecemeal development. We wanted to have a company which took the site and turned it into a visionary scheme that would stand the test of time.”

Ian Liddell-Grainger – MP for Bridgwater & West Somerset

Join our journey

For more information on locating to Gravity or how to be involved in the mobility planning.

Contact Tom curtis
Email: Info@thisisgravity.co.uk
Tel: 0207 160 0006

Gravity drives sustainability on-site with a high performing material management strategy

London, September 8, 2020 – Gravity’s Programme Director, Paul Lowndes interviewed Chris Marshall, Director of Ashfield Solutions about the successful implementation of our bespoke material management strategy.

“Our partnership with Ashfield Solutions ensures that Gravity has and continues to recover, reuse, recycle and repurpose all suitable on-site materials. This has significantly reduced disruption in surrounding communities and reduced our carbon footprint.

We hope this strategy and its environmental considerations will guide more low-carbon developments across the UK”. Gravity’s Programme Director, Paul Lowndes

Watch the full interview below.

For more information, download our brochure and sign up for our newsletter via our website footer.

About Gravity

Gravity, the UK’s first commercial smart campus, is the blueprint for a smarter, cleaner future – faster. It will deliver a new era of possibility by supporting companies making a difference socially, economically and environmentally, driving the UK’s shift to growing through a cleaner economy.

With direct access to the M5 and accessible by rail, air and sea, the site offers over 616 acres for the creation of millions of sq ft of scalable, flexible and shared working space.

Multinationals and start-ups will benefit from the excellent connectivity and speed of build out Gravity offers. By attracting today’s giants and tomorrow’s unicorns, there will be significant opportunities for collaboration.

With its on-site water provision, renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure and building energy management, 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 efficiently.

Community invited to learn more about Knowle Hill

Knowle Hill event

Gravity has invited local residents, community organisations and businesses to learn more about the scheme from this website which will be publishing full details on 16 September, including a flyover video about the scheme. You will be able to submit comments from this date. If you have any questions the team can be contacted at gravity@social.co.uk.

For those who would like to meet the Knowle Hill project team face-to-face, we are also running drop-in events that start at 6pm and 7pm on Wednesday, 16 September at 37 Club, Puriton.

To help us manage numbers for the drop-in events, booking is essential. You can book here. Please note that places will be issued on a first come first-served basis. 

We hope to hear from you, whether online or in person, soon!

For more information visit our community page.

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