On January 19th, Gravity’s Director of Planning & Economic Development, Claire Pearce, joined the Built Environment Networks’ ‘Developing Gigafactories’ – supporting Britain’s Net Zero Ambitions webinar.
The event brought together several leading UK organisations that are driving forward the approach on transport decarbonisation, and specifically the transition to electric vehicle manufacturing and the development of large-scale battery manufacturing. According to the Faraday Institution, for the UK to meet its projected domestic battery demand seven battery production sites will be needed by 2040.
Claire highlighted the transformational opportunity of the Gravity 616-acre Enterprise Zone for the South West, as a key location for a highly connected gigasite linked to a high-quality education and training offer, including the retraining and retention of the Hinkley Point C workforce. Gravity has a bespoke local consent in place that enables an agile and fast response to meet occupier need
“Events such as these are important to connect businesses and projects to realise benefits from a new era of clean growth and stimulate further economic restructuring and transition to a net zero carbon economy in the UK. They also help the sector gain a wider understanding of the challenges and opportunities for the UK in a competitive and global market place.”
Claire Pearce
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.
Expected to create up to 7,500 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.
Talented schoolchildren produce inspiring designs for gravity place making challenge
Renowned architect and TV presenter George Clarke has announced the winners of the Gravity young persons’ design challenge for schools in and around Bridgwater, Somerset.
The challenge, created by his education charity MOBIE – Ministry of Building Innovation and Education – asked young people to let their imaginations run free by designing an innovative and inspirational green place with jobs and homes that meets the changing needs of future generations, including promoting wellbeing, quality of life and healthy ageing.
The Gravity project will create a unique place: a sustainable, connected smart campus that delivers economic transformation, a sustainable environment, between 4000 and 7,500 jobs in cleaner, green businesses, with up to 750 new homes for the workforce.
Located near Bridgwater, in Sedgemoor, Somerset, just south of Bristol, it is an amazing development that is seeking to accelerate a response to addressing climate change whilst creating new jobs and homes. Gravity will create a new location for clean, large-scale advanced manufacturing industries. It will be a place where people can choose to work and live – ‘a blueprint for a smarter, greener future’.
The presenter of Channel 4 programmes Restoration Man, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and Old House New Home said: “Home is the most important piece of architecture in our lives. It crafts the way we live, and how we grow as families and communities. Well-designed places and communities like Gravity can enhance the way we live and promote good health and wellbeing”.
Clarke added: “The communities and homes of the future will be lived in by today’s young people. That is why I am so excited to announce the winners of this young persons’ design challenge. We asked young people, aged between 11 and 18, to design a place and home of the future – a sustainable, adaptable, green place that promotes wellbeing, quality of life and healthy ageing.
“From past experience I expected to see amazing design talent and imagination come forward, and I was not disappointed. It was hard for the judges to choose the overall winner, age group winners and the runners up. They were genuinely wowed by the standard of the work that these young people produced. The winners created some incredible and inspirational, future thinking designs. The future of the built environment and homes is in great hands with young talent like this around –I can’t wait to see what they do next.”
The overall winner of the challenge is Alyssa Ghio of Chilton Trinity School, Bridgwater with her amazing Pythagoras House design.
Pythagoras House
Claire Pearce, Director of Planning and Economic Development for Gravity commented“re-imagining the Gravity site ensures we can fully consider how we respond to climate change and in doing so to attract international businesses to the South West. Occupiers require an accessible workforce so our approach of enabling a new era of clean growth together with dedicated homes for the workforce, within a campus and community is really exciting. We hope the design challenge has inspired young people about Gravity, and motivated them to aspire to learn, live and work in Somerset in the future”.
Gill Slocombe, Deputy Leader for Sedgemoor District Council added: “The competition has encouraged young people to think deeply 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 high quality of the competition entries demonstrates that young people are full of ideas about how we can create better, greener and smarter places. I would like to congratulate the winners and to thank everyone who has taken part.”
The Young persons’ design challenge was open to schools and colleges located near to the Gravity site in Sedgemoor District in Somerset with three age groups – 7-11, 12-15 and 16-18. It asked them to create houses and a space that they care about and want to live and spend time in. The place and home should be environmentally ‘super-green’, use sustainable building methods and materials, green energy and smart technology with an emphasis on health and wellbeing of people, the community and our planet.
The age group winners are as follows:
Age 7 – 11
Theodore Spreadbury (age 8), Erin Waghorn (age 9) and Darcey Pike (age 10), Spaxton Primary School
Age 12 – 15
Wolfetone Kelly, James Steinhardt and Max Brophy (15), Sidcot School, Winscombe, North Somerset
Sarah Ingram, Liv Jeffrey and Stephanie Hills, Haygrove School, Bridgwater
For more information please contact MOBIE CEO: Mark Southgate – (t) 07917 427474, (e) mark.southgate@mobie.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITOR
About MOBIE
MOBIE – The Ministry of Building Innovation and Education – was established in 2017 by architect and TV presenter, George Clarke. It promises to inspire new generations to join the building and construction professions and fundamentally transform the way we think about, design and construct homes both in the UK and abroad. An educational, research and development charity, MOBIE’s purpose is to focus on developing innovative ways to build homes, providing access to education and skills development and vitally, challenge the housing market to do better. Spearheading advanced home design and construction thinking, MOBIE will work with both industry and government to create homes that will genuinely transform the way we live in Britain. www.mobie.org.uk
Gravity will be one of the most sustainable smart campuses in Europe, addressing climate change whilst creating new jobs and homes, and reducing the impact that businesses have on the environment by providing a clean, low-carbon environment for them to operate in. It will create a unique place: a sustainable, connected smart campus that delivers economic transformation, a sustainable environment, between 4000 and 7,500 jobs in cleaner, green businesses, and with up to 750 new homes for the workforce. It is located near to Bridgwater, in Sedgemoor, Somerset, just south of Bristol.
Residents have until December 8th to give thoughts on proposals for a flexible planning process to support the creation of thousands of jobs
Sedgemoor District Council is today launching a formal consultation for a Local Development Order for the Gravity Enterprise Zone at the former Royal Ordnance Factory at Puriton. The Gravity Local Development Order will be a positive planning tool used to support investment and to bring forward the site’s transformation and deliver significant numbers of high-quality, skilled jobs for the local area.
The vision is for Gravity to be a smart campus and community that will create between 4,000 and 7,500 jobs, driving the UK’s shift towards a zero-carbon economy, and placing Sedgemoor at the very centre of the ‘clean’ growth revolution.
The formal consultation follows more than a year of engagement with the local community and businesses by Gravity about the proposals in the Local Development Order. This sets high-level parameters under which development proposals are effectively granted planning permission provided they accord with the requirements of the Local Development Order. The range of permitted development and uses set out in the Local Development Order include advanced manufacturing, commercial and business use and supporting service, community, recreational and residential uses to assist in the creation of the Gravity smart campus.
Supported by the Local Development Order, Gravity is aiming to provide:
Thousands of new jobs in high value industries – advanced manufacturing- including electric vehicles and or battery manufacturing, smart technology, robotics, data, energy and other highly skilled sectors.
A Skills Charter to link local people to training and job opportunities.
A Business Charter to help local businesses respond to supply chain opportunities.
Homes to encourage our young people to stay, train and work locally.
Improved bus services, walking and cycling connections and potential new passenger rail and freight links to benefit Puriton, Woolavington and the wider region.
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.
Gravity will be the South West’s largest commercial development with the potential to deliver substantial levels of jobs. Comments on the draft LDO are really important in helping to shape this opportunity to deliver widespread growth and prosperity to the local area. People, businesses and local organisations have until 1700 hrs on Wednesday, December 8th to respond to the consultation and can do so by visiting the Councils web page at: www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/GravityLDO
Before Sedgemoor District Councillors considers the Local Development Order, it is formally consulting the public and statutory partners about the proposals for Gravity. This means there is another opportunity to share your views about the project. www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/GravityLDO
Duncan McGinty, Leader of Sedgemoor District Council said “Sedgemoor District is a proactive, pro-business Council, and has an impressive record on achieving economic growth. Now, even more so, the Council continues to work hard to secure new green collar jobs in sectors which are growing to create sustained jobs into the future for our communities. Gravity is the Sedgemoor enterprise zone and forms a key part of our plans to stimulate a green economic renewal. Please let us have your views’.
Claire Pearce, Gravity’s Director of Planning and Economic Development, added: “We are committed to working with Sedgemoor District Council to transform the site and create opportunities for local people and businesses. Starting the statutory consultation process marks an important next step towards preparing the Local Development Order before the council makes the final decision on adoption.
“The formal consultation follows hot on the heels of the road opening completing key milestones in transforming the site and creating a new era of higher value jobs in Sedgemoor as a legacy beyond Hinkley Point C construction.
Gravity featured at Government investment platform launch
Gravity’s link road nears completion
Claire Pearce speaks at Western Gateway conference
Gravity 24/7 smart campus to create up to 7,500 jobs
Gravity is expected to generate up to 7,500 jobs as our 24/7 campus will attract high-value businesses that operate in shift patterns. The latest figures reflect working patterns of real innovative business occupiers that the market is demonstrating the site and its 24/7 campus environment will attract.
The Gravity site is proving a unique proposition in the UK, offering a large-scale and readily available site as a destination for international investment. With a number of enquiries now in play to accelerate commercial responses to climate change, the Gravity team is ready to respond to deliver investment on the ground and realise opportunities for economic transformation.
Gravity featured on UK’s international investment platform
Gravity is proud to be featured on the Department of International Trade’s Atlas platform at its launch during the recent Global Investment Summit.
The Atlas platform is designed to allow prospective investors to navigate the UK’s investment environment, showcasing strategically important and commercially attractive investment opportunities.
Claire Pearce speaks at Western Gateway conference
On September 29th, Gravity’s Director of Planning & economic development, Claire Pearce joined the Built Environment Network’s ‘Western Economic Growth and Development’ hybrid conference, hosted in Cardiff.
The conference focused on the influential projects across the region that would accelerate the Western Gateway’s short-term priorities including becoming a gateway to global markets, uplifting housing growth, developing world-class physical and digital infrastructure while underpinning the ambition with zero carbon credentials.
Claire briefly outlined Gravity’s journey from the acquisition in 2017 through to its present shovel-ready state. Claire reflected on Gravity’s changing proposition in that time, as Gravity has transitioned from a regional site to one of national and international significance. Claire emphasized the importance of wider collaboration to ensure that the Western Gateway can secure inward investment opportunities.
Over the summer, feedback gathered from the informal consultation has been collated and has helped to inform the opportunities which can be delivered at Gravity. A suite of technical work has also been undertaken in the preparation of an Environmental Statement.
We were delighted with the overwhelming support for the project from the community. Thank you for your time and feedback.
In parallel to have had further international enquiries from prospective occupiers which really does show that the LDO is creating market interest and drawing occupier interest to the UK and into Sedgemoor. The potential occupiers are committed to the training and recruitment of local people as part of their workforce development and talent acquisition programmes and the college and wider universities are keen to work collaboratively to offer bespoke solutions to meet business needs.
We are now at the point of handing over consultation draft material to the District Council who will then have the role of conducting a formal public consultation exercise. We anticipate this will take place during November leading up to Council consideration on ‘adoption’ of the LDO thereafter.
Gravity sponsors Envrionmental Achievement award for a second consecutive year
Gravity will be sponsoring the ‘Environmental Achievement Award‘ for the second consecutive year at the Somerset Business Awards 2022, organised by the Somerset Chamber of Commerce.
We are extremely proud to support an event that celebrates the incredible achievements of local individuals and businesses, recognising the impact of their contributions towards protecting the environment.
Gravity is pleased to say that work to finish the link road is expected to complete later this month with the road to open to the public in mid-November. Watch the video above to see the development of the Link road between March & September, in particular, the unique ‘Green Bridge’ which we believe will become a landmark in its own right.
Gravity is proud to announce the opening of the link road, connecting the Gravity -Smart Campus to the A39 and the wider UK motorway network. This milestone enhances the connectivity of the site, providing a safe and expedient route for traffic destined for the 616-acre Enterprise Zone. The benefits of the link road will be significant in attracting large-scale innovative companies, expected to create up to 7,500 jobs and contribute c.£500m to the local economy.
The opening of the Gravity link road sees the completion of the first privately-led transport infrastructure project to receive grant funding from the Heart of the South West LEP through Growth Deal Fund.
The opening of the road to traffic enables us to relieve impacts on local communities as soon as possible, and a formal opening and celebration of the route completion with partners will follow, as will the naming of the link road.
Paul Lowndes – Gravity, Programme Director said: “We are immensely proud to open the link road, I and the wider Gravity team want to thank Alun Griffiths for their efforts during the road’s construction and to the local communities for their support and patience. Through this direct connection to the A39 and M5, we look forward to attracting world-leading businesses to Gravity.”
Karl Tucker, chair of Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted that the Heart of the SW LEP has been able to support this project with £3.94m of Growth Deal funding.
“The aim of the Growth Deal programme is to fund strategic infrastructure projects that help to stimulate economic growth and increased productivity. The Gravity site is one of our areas key strategic assets with the potential to attract significant inward investment that would create high value jobs and help us on our drive for clean and inclusive growth. This new link road will improve connectivity to the site, making it an attractive proposition for businesses, as well as relieving the pressure on local roads to benefit the surrounding communities.”
Councillor Duncan McGinty, Leader of Sedgemoor District Council added: “We are really pleased that the new link road has been opened, as it will help local residents, but more importantly is a huge step forward for Gravity, with the campus taking shape along with our ambition for Sedgemoor.”
Ends
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.
Expected to create up to 7,500 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.
Local Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone. That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders. The Heart of the South West LEP’s total Growth Deal is worth £598m; including £239m from Government and £351m match funding. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal: 2015 – 2021; HotSW LEP estimates the investment will create up to 26,930 new jobs and 18,242 new homes.
Heart of the South West’s portfolio of Enterprise Zones across three strategic sites offer discounted business rates and investment opportunities in key HotSW sectors: Marine at Oceansgate in Plymouth; Innovation and Clean Growth at Gravity in Somerset and Big Data and Environmental Futures at the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone. For more information visit: www.heartofswlep.co.uk/doing-business-in-our-area/enterprise-zones/
The Heart of the South West LEP’s total Growth Deal is worth £590m; including £239m from Government and £351m match funding. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal: 2015 – 2025; HotSW LEP estimates the investment will create up to 22,641 new jobs and 18,911 new homes.
Gravity is proud to announce that our smart campus development located in the heart of the South West has been featured on the Department of International Trade’s (DIT) Atlas platform at its launch during the recent Global Investment Summit. The Atlas platform is designed to allow prospective investors to navigate the UK’s investment environment showcasing strategically important and commercially attractive investment opportunities.
The Global Investment Summit (GIS) 2021 hosted by HM The Queen and the Prime Minister demonstrated how the UK can shape the future of green investment and comes in the lead up to COP26 in November. Gravity – Smart Campus sits alongside other significant UK projects including Purfleet on Thames and Gateway battery energy storage system in Essex.
On September 29th, Gravity’s Director of Planning & Economic Development, Claire Pearce, joined the Built Environment Networks ‘Western Economic Growth and Development’ conference, hosted in Cardiff.
The wider conference focused on the influential projects across the region that would accelerate the Western Gateway’s short-term priorities including becoming a gateway to global markets, uplifting housing growth, developing world-class physical and digital infrastructure all the while underpinning the ambition with zero carbon credentials.
Claire talked about the future plans of our transformational development and what Gravity’s key drivers for investment will be heading into 2022.
Gravity is expected to generate up to 7,500 jobs as the 24/7 campus will attract high value businesses that operate in shift patterns.
The figures reflect working patterns of real innovative business occupiers that the market is demonstrating the site and its 24/7 campus environment will attract.
The benefit of operating in shift patterns means that the number of jobs is maximised whilst the number of staff on site at any one time is limited to those required for each shift.
The job predictions will strengthen the opportunity to create a new era in advanced manufacturing at Gravity, based on the former Royal Ordnance Factory near Bridgwater, at the center of the South West.
The Gravity site is proving a unique proposition in the UK, offering a large-scale and readily available site as a destination for international investment. With a number of enquiries now in play to accelerate commercial responses to climate change, the Gravity team is ready to respond to deliver investment on the ground and realise opportunities for economic transformation.
As the government shifts the UK towards a zero-carbon economy, Gravity is at the centre of the national clean growth revolution. The project aims to make the 616-acre site a blueprint for a cleaner and smarter future, creating a campus that integrates work, homes, leisure, and green space, supported by a sustainable transport system and smart technology.
Gravity’s director of planning and economic development, Claire Pearce, commented: “The type of advanced manufacturing and commercial space that could be built here isn’t business as usual. As such, we’ve looked carefully at how we predict the number of jobs that could be created here in a 24/7 day a week scenario where we could have three shift patterns each day. The community, businesses and other stakeholders are telling us they want to see quality jobs created at Gravity and we are working hard to make that a reality”.
Cllr Gill Slocombe, deputy leader of Sedgemoor District Council, said: “This is great news for Sedgemoor and the wider region. We need to face the challenges of climate change head on but we also need to ensure we are creating jobs for the future. Gravity is an opportunity for us to do both.
Andy Berry, Principal of Bridgwater and Taunton College (BTC) said: “These new jobs at Gravity will be underpinned by new pathways to work, with training opportunities for our students and the wider community. The college will work with the Gravity team and wider partners in the education sector including universities and the Institutes of technology to offer workforce development as part of a Skills Charter to ensure there is a local labour approach developed with each occupier to bring the greatest social and economic benefits the host community”
The revised estimate for Gravity follows detailed technical analysis on what may be possible in the future.
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.
Expected to create up to 7,500 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.
London, September 2021 – Gravity, the UK’s first commercial smart campus, is delighted to announce that it will be sponsoring the ‘Environmental Achievement Award‘ for the second consecutive year at the Somerset Business Awards 2022, organised by Somerset Chamber of Commerce.
Gravity is proud to support an event that celebrates the incredible achievements of local individuals and businesses, recognising the impact of their contributions towards protecting the environment. Following on from last years’ incredible entries and eventual winners ‘James Tobias’ our Programme Director and Environmental Achievement Award judge, Paul Lowndes, is looking forward to seeing which Somerset companies are taking steps towards greater sustainability.
Entries open on September 16th and close midday on December 3rd, the ceremony will take place on March 11, 2022. The awards are free to enter and businesses do not need to be a member of the Chamber to take part.
Click here for more information on entering for the Environmental Achievement Award.
There are many ways to improve efficiency, reduce waste and lower emissions, at Gravity we are guided by the 4 R’s.
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.
Expected to create up to 7,500 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.
Gravity is proud to present ‘Powering the UK’s Green Revolution‘ a report that outlines how best the UK can transition from rhetoric and ideology towards practical steps and actions that will stimulate the clean growth sectors.
Read our summarised 8 steps outlining how the UK can practically reach Net-Zero.
Gravity directors spearhead the launch of ‘Clean Growth Leadership Network’ (CGLN)
Gravity has made no secret about its plan to be a net-zero campus. So passionate are the team around climate change that Gravity’s Chairman, Martin Bellamy and Director, Lord David Triesman have also created the Clean Growth Leadership Network (CGLN) along with Sir Dave King & Lord Des Browne. The network will bring together thought leaders from across academia, finance and policy-making to accelerate the commercialisation of clean growth solutions that will tackle climate change.
CGLN’s launch webinar on the future of battery storage and lithium-ion batteries can be viewed here. Our team looks forward to collaborating on future events.
Claire’s presentation explored how Gravity would deliver social and economic value to local people by creating jobs, training opportunities as well as enhancements to the local transport network; improved connectivity; and the creation of new leisure and green spaces as part of Gravity’s integrated smart campus.
Claire detailed how Gravity was partnering with educational organisations, including Bounce Forward and MOBIE, to create pathways to access new opportunities. Lucy Bailey of Bounce Forward explained how the charity works with schools and other organisations to provide a framework to help young people (and the adults around them) understand, and develop, a set of competencies that become tools for living. These competencies include self-regulation, flexible and realistic thinking, self-awareness and compassion, hope and optimism, and human connection. Lucy went on to outline how Bounce Forward is supporting Gravity to help young people make the most of the opportunities that the project offers them.
