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.”
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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.
About Heart of the South West LEP
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.
