Gigafactory for Jaguar Landrover :):)5 Jul 2020 11:16
A green belt site close to the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire, and just eight miles from the Jaguar Land Rover factory at the i54 on the edge of Wolverhampton, is being put forward as a potential location for the ‘gigafactory’.
The project could be worth more than £1bn to the region’s economy, bringing much-needed jobs and cementing the West Midlands’ reputation as a centre of excellence for the car industry.
The Department for International Trade has been looking for a UK site where firms could build a giant gigafactory, making lithium-ion batteries for electric cars as the market is predicted to increase dramatically in coming years.
More on this story:
The battle to bring giant car battery factory to site near M54
A potential site for the factory has now been put forward on land owned by Bradford Estates, off Junction 3 of the M54.
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The Bradford Estates has been seeking council backing to build up to 3,000 homes and commercial land in what would effectively be a new town to the north of the M54 and the west of Tong.
However, the organisation says it has also been working with Shropshire Council on a submission to the government as a potential site for the factory.
Viscount Alexander Newport, managing director of Bradford Estates, said: “I can confirm we have been working with Shropshire Council on its submission to the Department for International Trade outlining our J3 development site as the potential location for a gigafactory.
“We were very pleased to be asked to help and believe that this type of project would be a huge shot in the arm for Shropshire and the wider local economy at a time when both county and country need to be focused on the post-Covid recovery."
Shropshire Council has yet to decide on whether to support the Bradford Estates plans.
When contacted about whether it had submitted the bid, a council spokesman said: “For confidentiality reasons we’re unable to comment at this stage, but any such proposals would be subject to inclusion in the local plan.”
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