CONFIRMATION that a £4 billion electric car battery plant is to be built just outside Bridgwater signals the start of a new and highly prosperous chapter in the history of Somerset, MP Ian Liddell-Grainger said today.

Tata, the Indian-owned parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, has confirmed it will be building the factory at the 616-acre Gravity business park.

It’s the biggest-ever car investment in the UK and the factory will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said the development would have a transformational effect on the whole of the South West’s economy.

He added: “Part of the reason for Tata choosing the Gravity site is its excellent accessibility both by road and rail.

“It is easily commutable from Bristol, Gloucester, and Exeter, so the implications for the region’s jobs market are huge.”

Mr Liddell-Grainger said much of the credit for the new development rested with the former Sedgemoor District Council and its hard-working economic development team.

He said it was essential that Taunton and Bridgwater College took the lead in providing training for young would-be Tata employees.

The MP also added: “The college team are recognised as the best trainers in the UK and are already turning out the country’s next generation of nuclear engineers,” he said.

“It is important that we make maximum use of that pool of outstanding expertise as we start to welcome Tata to Somerset.”