Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Community ‘top priority’ for battery giant behind £4bn factory
SOMERSET residents and potential employees have heard more about a revolution that promises to transform the UK’s automotive sector and bring thousands of jobs to the region.
People who live near the site where what is thought to be Britain’s biggest factory will be built attended a series of community events in the past week.
Agratas, the Indian-owned battery giant, invited residents to the events – including one at Bridgwater and Taunton College.
The cutting-edge £4 billion battery site is set to contribute nearly half of the projected battery manufacturing capacity required for the UK automotive sector by 2030.
The exhibition provided a comprehensive overview of the facility’s design, the advanced technology powering the electric car batteries to be produced, and the diverse range of jobs that will be available.
CEO Tom Flack was among those to answer questions and hear feedback from residents on issues including construction, local community benefit, landscaping and design, travel plans, sustainability and jobs and skills.
The site will create up to 4,000 new jobs in diverse fields, including operations, engineering, and management.
Bridgwater and Taunton College students were among those to hear from Mr Flack about the multi-billion-pound investment, the advice he would give young people wanting to get into advanced manufacturing, and training that will be on offer.
Mr Flack said: “Since announcing that Somerset would become home to our new battery facility, our top priority has been to get into the community and meet some of our new neighbours.
“It’s important to us that Agratas provides local jobs for local people, which is why it was especially rewarding to hear from the college’s students and provide them with an overview of the training and career opportunities available for young people.
“There are factories in Europe just next door that struggle with this, and they’ve had a really hard time doing what we’re trying to do here because they didn’t do this right. We’re selfishly interested in connecting with the community, with people that could create careers with us.”
The Bridgwater and Taunton College event was the third in a five-part series of events Agratas hosted, with others in Woolavington and Puriton.
Mr Flack added: “When you do construction, there’s noise, there’s dust, and it’s a big project. Part of our commitment to the community is trying to be a good neighbour and be honest about it, to listen to people who are affected and work through them.
“It’s a long construction cycle, nothing like the community has experienced. We intend to deliver on our 2026 deadline. The economic impact is immediate with the kind of jobs that come with it, as they are large-scale jobs and very good, wellpaid roles.
“We’ll creep in around 2025, so we start right now, developing curricular... you’ll start seeing people take on roles in the hundreds, and then you’ll see it really pick up towards the end of 2025 when we start getting ready for full-fledged operations.”
He also encouraged women to enter the workplace, saying: “We really want to promote the idea of women coming into the company. It’s just not attractive in many developed countries where women want to be in plants, and it’s a shame.
“The only way to change it is to enter the education framework early and talk about STEM or the idea of being into the sciences. These are great places to work if you are interested in a career as a woman, and we just need to convince people of this.”
He spoke of the plant’s global potential and how transformative the site will be to the automotive industry, saying, “The auto industry has a big challenge, which is to get out of combustion engines and into this space. We’re transforming that. We’re one of the great brands here in the country, but also globally.”
Bridgwater and Taunton College principal Andy Berry welcomed the chance for students to see the opportunities.
“It is their first opportunity to engage directly with Agratas and understand the exciting opportunities this project will bring to them and the region,” he said. “As we further cement our strategic partnership, I’m looking forward to seeing the impact of the opportunities in delivering economic growth, innovation, and prosperity to our region.
“Somerset has a strong track record of delivering these great projects. We are ready to support the team at Agratas.”
Beyond Bridgwater he explained that there was a strong network of education providers across the South West, and as chair of the Association
of Colleges he was in a prime position to work with others.
“This is not a Bridgwater-centric point. This will have a gravitational impact that will start in the immediate community and then spread out across the South West region and the UK economy,” he said.
Councillor Liz Leyshon, deputy leader of Somerset Council, said: “It was great to see so many local people come out to find out more about Agratas’ plans for the local area.”
Mo Retford, from Woolavington, was a lab assistant in the old Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) in her first job at age 16.
She said: “I appreciate the fact that the site will be used again. We had a self-sufficient village there in the past, and it will be great to see a new community there benefitting the whole area.”
Mo was also able to see how the site will pay homage to the ROF’s history, with an original building kept intact and information for visitors inside.
Mr Flack also spoke of the current development, saying construction was under way.
“Essentially, to put a factory of this size on that site, you have to lay down a very extensive foundation,” he said, adding that some buildings would be up to 700m long,” he said.