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Highlights

• Gravity Sphero STEM initiative launches
• Gravity featured in COP27 digital case study 
• Gravity LDO and Link Road recognised with awards
• The team highlights the importance of Link Road connectivity 
• Gravity sponsors Somerset Business Awards 2023
• Gravity promotes local supply chain opportunities
• Developing partnerships locally 

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Gravity Sphero initiative launches

In October, Gravity, in partnership with Bridgwater United FC Community Trust at Bridgwater and Taunton College launched the Gravity Sphero provision.

The initiative seeks to inspire young local minds through the uniting of robotics, football and STEM activities. The interactive tasks which align with the national curriculum are designed to engage children of all ages and abilities. Learning through play. The launch event demoed several ways that children from local communities could be engaged and inspired into the world of STEM, and subsequently the educational pathways that branch out from interests across Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Read more

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Gravity case study used at COP27 Conference

Gravity is proud to have been used as an example for the vision of climate-resilient engineering solutions. The case study was part of Stantec’s submission that was used during the recent COP27 conference held in Cario.

Click here to see the case study submission.

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Claire Pearce chairs session at the Western Gateway Development Conference

Our Director – Planning and Economic Development, Claire Pearce, recently chaired the ‘Regeneration and Investment showcase’ session at the upcoming Western Gateway Development Conference.

The session discussed critical questions surrounding future regeneration and investment schemes, covering topics including; ESG credential’s role in securing finance, how best to future-proof developments and engage with future occupiers.

Read more / watch the full session

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Gravity LDO and Link Road recognised with national awards

On September 7th, Stantec’s efforts on the Gravity LDO Scenario tool were recognised as Highly Commended by the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) in the national awards ceremony

Also, on November 22nd the Gravity Link Road ‘Enterprise Way’ won the ICE South West, Civil Engineering Award 2022 for New Build over £8M. The Gravity team wants to extend its thanks to all of those whose efforts contributed to these recognitions.

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Gravity team highlights the importance of Link Road connectivity

Gravity’s Claire Pearce and Paul Lowndes discuss the crucial role of connectivity and strategic infrastructure in the efforts towards attracting large-scale manufacturing operators. With Heart of the South West LEP funding assisting in the delivery of critical connectivity boosting infrastructure across the region, including the Gravity Link Road, named Enterprise Way.

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Gravity sponsors Somerset Business Awards 2023

Gravity is proud to announce its continued sponsorship of the ‘Environmental Achievement Award’ at the upcoming Somerset Business Awards, this will be our third consecutive year.

Our Programme Director, Paul Lowndes will be looking for businesses that are working effectively to make a difference, leaving a positive environmental impact, becoming more resource-efficient and supporting wider sustainability efforts.

Learn more

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Gravity Programme Director promotes local supply chain opportunities

Our Programme Director, Paul Lowndes, has been out and about at local networking events speaking about Gravity, its journey, plans for the future and the emerging opportunities for local businesses as part of a supply chain. Events attended include, a Breakfast networking event hosted by the Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce and the Somerset Innovation Exchange 2022. Local businesses can register to be part of Gravity’s supply chain register.

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Local college builds Gravity bat house

Gravity is also preparing to add a new bat roost to the site.

The primary bat roost is being constructed by students at Bridgwater & Taunton College, giving students hands-on experience with ecological habitat management, involving local students is part of Gravity’s wider push towards creating genuine social value for local communities.

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Gravity works with local communities

As well as rolling out the Gravity Sphero project, Gravity are working closely with our contractors’ Ecology Solutions and Keystone to advise Puriton Parish Council on ecological and environmental matters to progress the technical preparation for the new leisure facilities at Purton Sports Hall.

Gravity has also instructed Sedgemoor District Council to progress with the plan to expand Puriton’s play area located off Manse Lane, which we expect to open in Spring 2023.

Gravity are excited to hear that the taster session of the Gravity Sphero initiative was warmly received by Woolavington Primary school and that more sessions are being enabled through Villages Together.

Members of the Bridgwater United Business Club were pleased to hear about the Gravity Sphero initiative and could really see the potential to engage and inspire young people into future jobs and careers.

Highlights

• Lord David Triesman – keynote speaker at South West Business Council Dinner
• Why the South West is the place to live and work
• Claire Pearce speaks at ‘Women in Property’ event
• Gravity LDO recognised with two awards
• Gravity’s Link Road shortlisted for ICE South West award
• Gravity connected to Bristol Port through a private 5G network
• A look ahead at Gravity – Summer 2022

Lord David Triesman – Keynote speaker at South West Business Council Dinner

Salamanca Group and Gravity Board Director, Lord David Triesman, was the keynote speaker at the recent South West Business Council’s Annual Dinner, held at Dartington Hall.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to participate and are excited about the potential of Gravity to act as a catalyst for a new era of clean growth.”

Lord Triesman spoke to an esteemed audience about Leadership in a Dynamic Region for Business, he was enthused by the rich collaboration he has witnessed in the region and its entrepreneurial spirit and believes the South West is well-positioned to thrive in the wave of clean growth innovation.

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BLOG: Why the South West is the place to be

From great work-life balance to the region’s rich cultural heritage, we explore what makes the South West the place to live and work.

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Claire Pearce speaks at Women in Property event

Our Director of Planning & Economic Development, Claire Pearce, was a guest speaker alongside Esther Croft, Development Director of Reef Group at the Association of Women in Property event.

At the event, Claire underlined Gravity’s role in championing the South West as the place to invest and do business.

Claire emphasised the importance of hosting future-facing industries to create sustained employment for communities and developing greater regional multi-modal connectivity to better enable to South West to compete in an international market. Gravity is one of the most advanced ‘shovel’ ready sites in the UK and can accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy.

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Gravity LDO recognised with awards

Gravity’s Director – Planning and Economic Development, Claire Pearce and Programme Director Paul Lowndes were in attendance at the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) SW Awards in Exeter. They joined the Stantec team as they won two of the four categories they were shortlisted for.

Stantec won the Innovation Award for the Gravity Local Development Order (LDO) Future Scenarios Tool, which will aid transport planning and assessment, and the Collaboration Award for Gravity LDO Delivery Group.

The Gravity Scenario Testing tool has since been shortlisted for the Transport Planning Category National Award. The winners will be announced at the CIHT National Award show on 7 September.

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Gravity Link Road shortlisted for Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) South West Civil Engineering Award 2022

The Gravity Link Road has been shortlisted for an Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) South West Civil Engineering Award. The completed road is an example of one that shows a commitment to sustainability, climate resilience and carbon reduction.

The opening of the road has removed through traffic from the village of Puriton, creating a safer village, a more pleasant public environment, and improving air quality.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 15 September. Members and non-members of the ICE can choose their favourite project in the People’s Choice Awards – vote here.

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5G Connectivity at Gravity

Gravity announces the installation of the 5G infrastructure that connects Bristol Port and the Gravity Smart Campus. The West of England Combined Authority’s test bed project is aligned with our digital ambition to host and progress technological development to enable plans to deliver a campus to accommodate large-scale advanced manufacturing. accelerating the UK’s transition to a net-zero carbon economy.

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Look Ahead: Summer 2022

• 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 licensing.
• The landscaping of the link road, called Enterprise Way, will take place in Autumn 2022.
• Early Works comprising site clearance, cut & fill excavation and stockpiling of imported piling mat material have commenced.

Highlights

• Sedgemoor District Council adopts a Local Development Order  (LDO) for Gravity and opens a gateway to transformational change for locality and wider region
• Claire Pearce speaks on ‘Developing Gigafactories’ – supporting Britain’s Net Zero Ambitions
• Gravity at forefront of sustainable lithium supply chain
• Gravity Link Road opens creating new access to J23 of the M5
• Gravity Business Charter – supporting clean growth in the SW
• Gravity judges’ regional environmental awards
• TV’s George Clarke announces Design Competition winners

Gravity Local Development Order Adopted by Sedgemoor District Council

On February 23, we were delighted to receive the news that Sedgemoor District Council adopted a Local Development Order (LDO) for Gravity.  

Our goal is to create up to 7,500 high-quality, skilled jobs, driving the UK’s shift towards a zero-carbon economy.

This landmark decision opens the gateway to transformational change over the coming years, as Gravity takes shape as one of the most sustainable smart campuses in Europe, attracting high-value occupiers, committed to clean growth.

Our next step will be to work closely with potential occupiers to ensure that parties are aware of the site being in a ‘ready state’ for immediate mobilisation, enabling an accelerated response within a fast-moving and global marketplace.

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Gravity Link Road opens to the public

In Q4 2021, Gravity’s connection to the UK’s motorway network, the Gravity Link Road opened to the public. We expect the footpath across our unique ‘green bridge’ to open later in the spring.

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Gravity team visits Cornish & British Lithium facilities

In February, Gravity’s leadership team traveled to Cornwall, to better understand the facilities and processes of Cornish  & British Lithium. The trip was facilitated by the Heart of the South West LEP who promote and influence economic growth, job creation and prosperity across the region.

Work to develop an ethical, sustainable lithium supply is rapidly accelerating and such efforts have already received backing from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) via the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund, and from Innovate UK

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Claire Pearce speaks at ‘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.

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Gravity Programme Director judging regional Environmental Awards

Gravity Programme Director, Paul Lowndes, has recently been judging entries to both the ‘SBA 2022 ‘Environmental Achievement Award’ and the ‘Federation of Small Business (FSB) South West’s ‘Environmental/Sustainability Award’.

Both awards are here to recognise and celebrate the businesses in the South West that are making significant progress towards improving their environmental awareness through ESG decision making and reducing their operational carbon emissions, contributing to the UK’s decarbonisation efforts.

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Winners of Gravity Young Person Design Challenge announced by TV presenter George Clarke

Gravity is pleased to say that work to finish the link road is expected to complete later this

In early December, TV Presenter George Clarke announced the winners of the Gravity Young Person’s Design Challenge. The overall winner was revealed as Alyssa Ghio of Chilton Trinity School, Bridgwater with her amazing Pythagoras House design.

The challenge, created by the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education < (MOBIE), Gravity and Bounce Forward, asked young people from the Bridgwater area to design an innovative and inspirational sustainable place with jobs and homes that meet the changing needs of future generations, including promoting wellbeing, quality of life and healthy ageing.

The judges were drawn from Gravity, MOBIE and Bounce Forward, which provided participating schools with mental resilience training.

Highlights

• Gravity set to create up to 7,500 jobs 
• 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.

Learn more about the Western Gateway.

Local Development Order Progress

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. 

Link Road nears completion

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. 

Highlights

• ‘Powering the UK’s Green Revolution’ report is here
• Gravity and Bounce Forward share Smart Campus benefits
• Gravity’s Directors launch Clean Growth Leadership Network 

Green Recovery Report has arrived

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.

Gravity and Bounce Foward share social values at Women in Property Webinar

On June 12th, Claire Pearce, Director of Planning and Economic Development, was joined by Lucy Bailey, Founder of Bounce Forward, to discuss Gravity’s social benefits at a Women in Property webinar. 
 
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.