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Rob Stevens

February 2021 Newsletter

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Highlights

  • Gravity asks Ian Liddell-Grainger MP his views on what a Freeport would mean to Bristol and the UK economy
  • Get to know Jonathan Davis, the newest member of our team, he shares what excites him the most about Gravity
  • Gravity weighs in on how to make the ‘Green Recovery‘ real and not just idealogical
  • Gravity now receiving Elon Musk’s mail

MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset talks about Great Western Freeport with Gravity

Freeport status has been all over the press this month and with some hard-hitting conflicting views. With no political agenda, just a desire to support the UK economy, we talk directly to our local MP on what exactly is the deal with Freeports.  Click here to read the full interview.

Gravity signs Open Letter to Chancellor on need for Great Western Freeport

Gravity joined business leaders from across the West of England with an open letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak in support for the Great Western Freeport bid, describing the proposal as a “world-class trade and jobs hub”.

Gravity receives Elon Musk’s mail

The Gravity team was quite surprised to see a letter addressed to Elon Musk arrive in the post from a supplier of digital microscopes. We naturally have sent the letter to a forwarding address

What is it about Gravity, that excites its team?

Meet the newest member of the Gravity delivery team. Find out what excites Jonathon about our smart campus, why the UK needs a site like Gravity and his desert island playlist 

Click here to read Jonathans interview.

Gravity hosts roundtable ‘Powering the UK’s Green Recovery’

On 20 January, Gravity hosted a forward-thinking and lively roundtable discussion ‘Powering the UK’s Green Recovery’. The event focused on how the UK can practically implement the government’s ambitious commitments to achieve net-zero by 2050. Chaired by Gravity Director, Lord David Triesman, the discussion brought together industry-leading ideas from public and private sectors. Highlights from the event will be available on our website soon.

Gravity launches interactive map

We have launched an interactive map that captures feedback and ideas from local residents about our development. Gravity will use data from this map to ensure that we produce a site that works for all stakeholders. Find it here.

Gravity Link Road Update 

5G trial agreed to support operations at Bristol Port and Gravity Smart Campus

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has secured more than £3m from the Government to test how the country can seize the full benefits of 5G and help businesses harness the power of modern technology. WECA’s 5G Logistics project programme will develop 5G products and services to support operations at Bristol Port and Gravity Smart Campus. Find out more.

Gravity Chairman to join Green Investment panel discussion

Gravity Chairman, Martin Bellamy will be joining a panel discussion that aims to highlight the role of the investment and development sectors in the drive to net zero.

  • Wednesday 24 February 
  • 9:30 am – 10:30 am

MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset talks about Freeports with Gravity

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Gravity ask’s Ian Liddell-Grainger. MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset his views on what a Freeport would mean to Bristol and the UK economy.

Can the Great Western Freeport– Bristol Succeed?

Of course it can. Boris Johnson spotted the potential 14 months ago when he described Bristol as a “strong contender” to become a free port. In my view, it is the strongest candidate. The UK now needs brand new global trade hubs to serve markets right across the world. Brexit has forced the pace to create them and you cannot get a better location than here! Bristol Port has been crucial to connecting our island with the rest of the world ever since the Romans were here. We are strategically placed on US and Asian trade routes and supported by a region blessed with top universities, amazing opportunities for training and a culture of business innovation. We have ‘shovel ready’ sites like Gravity within the freeport offer, primed for international investment and ready to create new jobs. We are raring to go!

What would the free port mean to Bristol and the wider South West region

The Prime Minister wants to ‘level-up’ Britain. Not just in the North. There is huge potential in the South West. We have all the ingredients to be a global leader in high-value design, innovation, hosting and advanced manufacturing. We can build lasting job opportunities, pioneer vital training and improve the life chances of everyone involved in the South West. Freeport status would be more than a shot in the arm – the potential is enormous. The best estimates say it could create 48,500 jobs in the region and £4.1bn GVA each year. In the long run this Freeport should boost the UK economy to the tune of £6.2bn GVA and 88,700 jobs.

What would you urge the Government to do?

Take the plunge. What an amazing opportunity! There’s Bristol Port itself, linked to key strategic sites like Gravity, with second-to-none academic institutions plus all the industrial assets of the South West – we really are ready to deliver England a phenomenal free port. We can prove our capability, our highly skilled workforce, our ideal infrastructure, and a genuine appetite to hit the ground running and make it all succeed If we make the right decisions and invest in areas which are ready, resourceful and renowned for delivering success then Britain will never go wrong.

Gravity supports Open Letter to Chancellor on the need for Great Western Freeport

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Gravity is proud to have signed an open letter to the Chancellor alongside 32 other business leaders, supporting the Great Western Freeport.

The open letter outlines the compelling reasons for Freeport status to be granted, including the region’s 480 hectares of ‘shovel ready’ brownfield regeneration sites, with Gravity as a prime example, offering clear and accessible opportunities.

Read open letter

Gravity Chairman to join Green Investment panel discussion

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Gravity Chairman, Martin Bellamy will be joining an upcoming panel discussion ‘Green Investment and the drive to new energy‘ on 24 February hosted by Real Estate Live UK. The discussion will highlight the role of the investment and development sectors in the drive to net zero.

It’s clear that both the public and private sector must play a part in the drive to create a nation powered by green energy. There is a wealth of opportunity across the UK’s renewable energy sector, but how can these projects be brought forward at pace? This panel discussion will discuss where there are opportunities for investment and showcase forward-thinking ideas on how we can deliver the shift to a clean energy economy.

Panel Details

  • 24 February 2021
  • 9:30am – 10:30 am

Click here to register for panel discussion.

Claire Pearce to join panel discussion on delivering successful work-live-play environments

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Gravity’s Director – Planning & Economic Development, Claire Pearce will be joining a panel discussion ‘Attitudes to economic development’ hosted by Copper Consultancy, who specialises in stakeholder engagement and communications for economic development and major infrastructure projects.

The discussion will focus on how the public view investment in places and how better engagement can help deliver successful projects. Key themes for discussion will include the impact of COVID-19 on community engagement and how awareness of economic development plans and projects can be improved?

Claire Pearce will be joining panelists from Copper, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and City of Wolverhampton Council.

Webinar details

  • Thursday 25th February
  • 14:00 – 15:00

About Copper

Copper specialises in stakeholder engagement and communications for economic development and major infrastructure projects.  Copper’s Attitudes series of research reports shine a light on opportunities and challenges for plan-makers and developers through the lens of the end user – the UK public.

Gravity join Great Western Freeport bid to stimulate UK manufacturing and create almost 50,000 jobs

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On February 5th, The West of England Combined Authority submitted its bid to host a Great Western Freeport that could create up to 50,000 jobs in the region and 90,000 nationally, read the full story here.

Martin Bellamy – CEO, Gravity.

Freeports are exactly what the UK needs right now, they reduce costs and bureaucracy for occupiers, encouraging manufacturing businesses to invest and create new jobs. Freeports are a major opportunity for a post-Brexit UK to increase trade with the US and fast-growing Asian markets at a time when the UK is signing more trade deals with global partners , Gravity stands ready to support and enable the UK increase international trade.

There are already many successful free trading zones around the world, with the most successful Freeports attracting business and creating jobs. The Great Western (Bristol) Freeport has immense opportunity to kick start a new era of British manufacturing, providing sustainable, innovative, long-term jobs that would drive post-Covid Britain’s road to a green recovery. Myself, and the team at Gravity are incredibly proud to play our part in this.

What is a freeport?

Click here for Great Western Freeport brochure

If you are a high-tech/advanced manufacturing business and would like to know how you could benefit from operating in a low-carbon free trading zone, contact. Info@thisisgravity.co.uk

Vital work to connect flagship business campus to county’s road network

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A major development set to bring thousands of jobs and huge investment to the heart of Somerset has reached an important milestone.

Work is progressing apace on one of the UK’s largest commercial smart campuses – Gravity at Bridgwater’s M5, Junction 23, and next month the focus shifts to connecting the low-carbon 635-acre site to the A39 and main road network.

This is the next important milestone in this major scheme, expected to bring 4,000 jobs to the county. 

This crucial work will require the closure of the A39 from Hillside to Hall Road on Puriton Hill while this next stage is carried out. The closure will commence on Monday 8 February and will last until Sunday 21 February. The road will be closed to all traffic at all times between these dates except for residents. A diversion will be in place for motorists accessing or leaving Junction 23 from and to the Street direction.

We fully understand this work will cause disruption and we’ll do everything in our power to carry this out as quickly as possible and push this exciting project towards its completion.

We’ve worked closely with our fantastic local partners, including Somerset County Council, Puriton, Woolvington and Bawdrip Parish Councils, Sedgemoor District Council and Bridgwater Chamber of Trade, to make sure they’re fully up-to-date with the project.

Gravity will be a huge boost to the economy of Bridgwater and Somerset and the whole of the South West – it’s a fantastic state-of-the art low-carbon business campus which will really put us on the map in terms of attracting new and established businesses to the County,” said Cllr David Hall, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development.

We appreciate there will be some short-term disruption while the A39 is closed for both residents and motorists heading to and from the M5, but the long term gain for the county is immense.

Paul Lowndes, Gravity Programme Director

Residents should please liaise with on-site staff with regard to access.

During the road closure a suggested diversion route will be clearly signposted on site or can be found at www.thisisgravity.co.uk/community-link-road and there’s an interactive map on Roadworks – Travel Somerset

5G trial agreed to support operations at Bristol Port and Gravity Smart Campus

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The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has secured over £3m from the Government to test how the country can seize the full benefits of 5G and help businesses harness the power of modern technology.

WECA’s 5G Logistics project programme will develop 5G products and services to support operations at Bristol Port and Gravity Smart Campus. 

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has secured over £3m from the Government to test how the country can seize the full benefits of 5G and help businesses harness the power of modern technology.

WECA’s 5G Logistics project programme will develop 5G products and services to support operations at Bristol Port and Gravity Smart Campus and demonstrate a smart and dynamic port environment. The project will focus on security, traceability, and real-time tracking of goods within and across extendable virtual boundaries – and between public and private networks.

It will demonstrate how 5G private network capabilities can offer efficiency and productivity improvements to the logistics sector and more widely, allowing real-time location tracking of individual items, improvements to road traffic management and replacing low value, manually-intensive processes with 5G enabled autonomous systems. The project offers the potential for such advances in technology to be implemented industry-wide; including at other ports in the UK, Enterprise Zones or other business parks.

The Government has backed the project with £3m as part of its 5G Create competition – which supports innovators exploring new uses for 5G to help improve people’s lives and boost businesses.

West of England Mayor Tim Bowles said:

“5G has the potential to revolutionise whole industries and economies, creating exciting new jobs and opportunities. I want the West of England to be at the forefront of this revolution.

We have already led one successful trial and I’m thrilled that our plan to demonstrate how a smart and secure port could operate using the Internet of Things has been approved for funding by the Government. Backing innovation and the jobs of the future and bringing new investment to the region by securing a Freeport are key parts of our plan for economic recovery, so this is a big vote of confidence in the West of England.”

WECA is leading a consortium of partners on the £5.2m 5G Logistics project – one of nine projects to receive government funding – which includes companies ADVA Ltd, Airspan, AttoCore, Bristol Port, Cellnex UK, Gravity, Maritime, Unmanned Life, Bristol City Council, Bristol University and Cardiff University. 5G is the type of cutting-edge technical innovation that the West of England is looking to embrace with its forthcoming Freeport bid.

The Government wants technology to form part of its wider strategy for the border. It aims to establish resilient ‘ports of the future’ at border crossing points to make the experience smoother and more secure for travellers and traders, while better protecting the public and environment.

Technology can play an important role in making freeports as accessible as possible for traders. The Government consulted publicly on the UK’s future border strategy last summer, seeking views on how it can make the UK’s border the most effective in the world. The opportunities presented by a technology-enabled border was a major theme of the responses.

Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure said:

“This trailblazing project – funded through our £200 million 5G trials programme – will explore how revolutionary new 5G connectivity could make our ports more efficient and secure as we attract major investment from across the globe post-Brexit. I look forward to seeing it in action.”

Steve West, Chair of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“Testing new ways of delivering services and harnessing this new technology could hold the key to a more connected, more advanced and sustainable future for the West of England.

Super-fast and ultra-reliable 5G is expected to offer an increased level of connectivity and new opportunities for businesses, including better remote working, and is likely to bring significant business growth opportunities for our region’s tech sector.”

Thought leaders invited to ‘Green Recovery’ roundtable

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London, January 6, 2020 – Gravity is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a forward-thinking and catalyzing round table discussion ‘Powering the UK’s Green Recovery’. The event will focus on how the UK can practically implement the government’s ambitious commitments to achieve Net-zero by 2050.

Chaired by Gravity Director, Lord David Triesman and supported by Blackstock Consultancy the discussion will bring together industry-leading ideas from public and private sectors on some of the most pressing issues surrounding the ‘Green Recovery’, including;

  • What will the delivery of a Green Recovery look like?
  • How do we transform vision and rhetoric into concrete action?
  • How will a net-zero focused stimulus work in practice?

Highlights of the roundtable will be freely available after the event.

Details
Wednesday 20th January 2020

Link Road Update – 20th January

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Gravity and Alun Griffiths are continuing to host the Link Road Q&A sessions virtually. The next sessions will be held on Wednesday 20th Jnaury. 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.

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