EMMA Rawlings, chief executive of Somerset Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is fantastic news for Bridgwater, Somerset and the wider South West.

"It will bring a huge economic boost to the area, thousands of new jobs, investment in skills and scores of supply chain opportunities.

“It puts Somerset, its businesses and workforce at the heart of the green revolution to switch from fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles and secures a home grown supply chain, without the need to rely on imports.

“Somerset businesses are already familiar with the Hinkley Point C supply chain so are well placed to provide expertise for the gigafactory.

“And as car makers are already switching their production vehicles to all electric, having capacity in the UK to produce batteries will almost certainly attract additional investment from the automotive industry.

“This is a massive vote of confidence in Somerset, the South West and UK.”

Meanwhile, Kit O’Brien, Somerset-based solicitor with law firm Shakespeare Martineau and board member of the Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce, said: “Today’s announcement that Tata will build its battery factory at the Gravity site near Bridgwater is fantastic news for both the town and the wider region.

"With the promise of up to 9,000 new jobs, this represents an enormous investment in the area and should lead to significant local infrastructure improvements as a welcome additional benefit.   

"Bridgwater has long been seen as one of the most active areas for growth in Somerset and the benefits of this investment to the local economy should be considerable.

"Bridgwater has worked extremely hard to be seen as a great area to do business and investment at this level can only be good for the business community as a whole – let’s hope that it marks the beginning of a new wave of battery investment within the UK.” 

Motoring industry groups have welcomed the news that Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata will be building a multi-billion pound car battery plant in Somerset.

Tim Alcock from LeaseElectricCar.co.uk thinks that not only will it generate up to 4,000 jobs but it is a much needed boost for the UK electric car industry.

He said: “We are delighted that Jaguar Land Rover-owner Tata are building this much needed facility here in the UK.

“The EU has 35 electric car battery plants open, in construction or in planning stages, and currently the UK is significantly behind in these industrial strategies.

“The UK government acknowledges the urgent need for electric vehicle battery manufacturing in the UK to support the rapid uptake of EVs.

“The building of this facility will help bolster the infrastructure required to allow the industry to grow.”