Gigafactory bid to get extra £500k from Coventry City Council

It was previously hoped JLR owner Tata would invest in the site at Coventry Airport but their sights appear to be looking at Somerset

A council is to spend an extra £500,000 in a bid to build a car battery factory in Coventry.

The city council is working with Coventry Airport to try and secure a gigafactory in Baginton.

Earlier this year, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) owner Tata Group was reported to be expecting to state it had selected a site for a such a facility in Somerset.

The council's money would be spent on work to attract an investor for Baginton, councillor Jim O'Boyle said.

The authority has already spent £1.75m on the project and is now set to push ahead with plans to spend another £500,000.

The additional finance would be used, the council says, for work such as surveying and ground investigations as well as commissioning specialist battery and power supply services.

The funding, which is set to be formally signed off on 5 July, would be matched by Coventry Airport Ltd.

Councillor Jim O'Boyle said the council needed to take urgent action towards getting an investor for the site

Without taking urgent action the UK could end up falling behind in the race to develop batteries at scale, Mr O'Boyle said.

"As the heart of the UK automotive sector, Coventry and the West Midlands must be at the very centre of the electrification strategy," he added.

The site at Coventry Airport was the only proposed location for a gigafactory in the UK which was ready for investment, with planning consent, Mr O'Boyle said.

It would also need government support but senior members of the Conservative government have repeatedly failed to offer unambiguous support to the plans when asked publicly.

There were hopes JLR, which has its international headquarters near the airport site, would support the plans for a gigafactory there but their plans appear now to be set on Somerset.

When it emerged they were looking elsewhere, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street told the BBC he was still confident of attracting a user to the site.

The scheme for the airport was first made public in 2016 but there was never any public indication of interest in the site from any potential investor.

Council bosses and others supporting the project claim the new factory could create up to 6,000 jobs.

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