Manufacturer Britishvolt has received a huge boost by obtaining planning permission to regenerate the 92.2hectare disused coal stocking yard (used as part of the former Blyth Power Station) in Northumberland into the UK’s first battery Gigaplant with a gross internal floor area of 386,357m² that will have the capacity to produce 300,000 batteries per annum for the Electric Vehicle market.

A total investment of £2.6bn will make this one of the UK’s largest ever industrial investments creating 3,000 highly skilled jobs and up to 5,000 more in the wider supply chain. Electrification of mobility, including domestic battery cell production, is strategically important to the UK automotive industry and a key component in Boris Johnson’s ten-point plan for the UK’s green recovery and a key step towards the Net Zero Carbon economy by 2050.

Multidiscipline Property and Construction Consultants Ridge and Partners LLP (Ridge) successfully led the planning application process with a unique, fully coordinated approach including Planning Consultancy, PMO Programme & Project Management, Architecture, Sustainability, Digital Engineering, Land & Building Surveying, Health & Safety and Principal Designer services. Ridge is working alongside partners Rolton Group (Engineering), G&T (Cost Consultant), Potential Realisation (Process Design), Dentons (Solicitors) and ISG (Construction Partner) to deliver the overall project.