BRIDGWATER Chamber of Commerce hosted a business networking event last week that focussed on the Gravity project just north of the town.

The main guest speaker at the event was Paul Lowndes, who is the programmer director at Gravity.

The event was attended by 40 local businesspeople who had an opportunity to network and meet one another before hearing from Paul Lowndes about the Gravity project.

Bridgwater Chamber manager, Diogo Rodrigues said: “Gravity is set to play a key role in the ongoing development of Bridgwater and surrounding areas.

"The site itself is set to create over 8,000 jobs and the supply chain that follows is anticipated to create some 90,000 new jobs. This is a huge project that will bring so much inward investment and create exciting opportunities for local businesses and local people.”

On the site of a former Royal Ordnance Factory, Gravity has been designed to accommodate large-scale, international, leading-edge businesses in, for example, automotive and battery manufacturing, and advanced engineering.

According to the Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce, this is critical to enable the UK to transition into clean growth sectors and restructure the economy to be future facing.

Remediation of the 616-acre site was completed in 2020.

The site is now ready to provide the flexible base new businesses need, set within a biodiverse and accessible landscape.

With wellbeing a major driver, the site will include all of the facilities necessary to attract and support a modern working community including hotels, accommodation, fitness centres, a nursery and cafes, subject to occupier needs.

Gravity benefits from being located on the UK’s national rail and motorway network.

It is in close proximity to Bristol Port and Airport and has dark fibre already in place with a test bed on 5G underway. A new link road is open creating access onto Junction 23 of the M5.

On their website, Gravity state: "Our mission is to create a Smart Campus that delivers a new era of possibility, where companies make a difference socially, economically and environmentally."

They add that: "For over sixty years during the 20th Century, the Royal Ordnance Factory Bridgwater was based on the site. During this period, it was a significant production facility through wartime and peace. Social clubs, sports teams and community events were the norm.

"Building on its manufacturing past, buzz of activity and community spirit, Gravity will once again become an employment hub supporting an active ecosystem of businesses in a desirable environment."