LOCALS from areas near to the recently announced Agratas giga-factory near Puriton are being given the chance to have their say on the plans.

Agratas, Tata’s global battery business, is holding its first community events with local residents near Bridgwater, inviting everyone who lives locally to meet the team behind Britain’s biggest battery cell manufacturing facility.

As part of its 'community-first' approach, Agratas is inviting the entire local community, councillors, and students to five public events held over four days, beginning this weekend.

Those in attendance will be able to pose questions to Agratas' team behind the project, as well as sharing feedback, and understanding more about what will happen over the next few years as the site starts to take shape.

An event scheduled to be held at Bridgwater & Taunton College will allow students to hear directly from CEO Tom Flack, and specialists in Agratas’ Strategy, R&D, Sustainability and Operations teams, about the company’s battery technologies, as well as the jobs that will be created locally.

Agratas is working closely with Bridgwater & Taunton College as well as other local and regional partners - including Somerset Council - to design a set of bespoke education and training programmes in the area.

The full list of dates, times, and locations for each meeting is as follows:

  • Bitham Walk Hall, Woolavington - 10am until 12pm, Saturday, April 27.
  • Puriton Sports Centre, Puriton - 2:30pm until 4:30pm, Saturday, April 27.
  • Bridgwater & Taunton College - 5pm until 8pm, Tuesday, April 30.
  • Puriton Village Hall - 6pm until 8pm, Wednesday, May 1.
  • Bitham Walk Hall, Woolavington - 6pm until 8pm, Thursday, May 2.

Across all five events, residents interested in job opportunities can hear more about this, and meet the Agratas team to learn about the diverse range of opportunities to work in the battery sector.

Tom Flack, CEO of Agratas, said: “We’ve received a warm welcome since announcing that we’ll be making Somerset our home.

"We know everyone is keen to hear more about our plans to get going onsite, the types of jobs that will be created and when those opportunities will start to be available.

"The whole team is looking forward to engaging with students and Somerset residents, and to building a long-term partnership that will turn this region into an advanced manufacturing centre of excellence, fit for the future.”

It was announced on Wednesday, February 28, that the Gravity Smart Campus in Puriton would become home to Tata Group’s multi-billion-pound electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility, the biggest of its kind in the country.