Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has this week announced that the Gravity site between Burnham-On-Sea and Bidgwater could be one of the Government’s first new Investment Zones.
The former Royal Ordnance Factory site has been identified as a potential site for a Gigafactory that could deliver up to 7,500 skilled jobs.
The 616-acre site has the potential for an onsite rail terminal and sits by junction 23 of the M5 motorway.
Councillor Bill Revans, leader of Somerset County Council has welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement.
He says: “We need to see the detail of how a new Investment Zone will work, but I am very pleased that Somerset looks like it could be a pioneer for the concept.
“With our plans for the Gravity site, our support for renewables and Hinkley Point C coming on stream later in the decade, we can put Somerset at the heart of the new Green Energy revolution.”
”We have also identified significant growth opportunities in our other major towns. There is a prize here to be seized – and we have our eyes on that prize.”
Councillor Duncan McGinty, leader of Sedgemoor District Council, adds: “I broadly welcome Investment Zones for the Somerset. This could be an important tool for Somerset, with significant investment opportunities like Hinkley Point C, and Gravity in Sedgemoor. We will also work extremely hard to make sure that Sedgemoor remains a green and climate-friendly area.”
The Chancellor said this week thst the Government is in talks with local authorities in the West Midlands, Tees Valley, Somerset and other regions to establish the new investment zones, which are areas with lower taxation and planning rules.
