Council leader Glen Sanderson promises to 'bend over backwards' to deliver Cambois gigafactory as Britishvolt's new owners given more time to build it

A CGI of what the vast battery factory will eventually look like.

The land was purchased by Britishvolt in April 2021 for £2m, with the company planning to build a vast factory for the manufacture of electric car batteries.

At the time, the council inserted a buy-back clause within the contract that would allow it buy back the site for the same amount in the event the development was not completed within 39 months of obtaining planning permission.

Leading councillors have long championed the project, which was set to bring thousands of high-skilled jobs to south east Northumberland. However, in January, Britishvolt collapsed into administration, throwing the gigafactory project into jeopardy.

Fortunately, buyers for the company have now materialised in the form of Recharge Production UK. The new owners have said they still intend to build the gigafactory on the site.

However, it was agreed that the original deadline for the buy-back clause was now too tight. At Tuesday’s meeting of the council’s cabinet, leading councillors agreed to extend the deadline – although that date was not specified in public.

Speaking at the meeting, council leader Glen Sanderson confirmed his administration remained committed to delivering the Britishvolt project.

Coun Sanderson said: “When we originally parted with this land we had a buy-back clause inserted with a number of conditions to ensure that taxpayer’s money was safeguarded.

“That very important clause is still there. This paper says we agree to look at a potential alteration to that, the details of which are in the private part of the meeting because they are commercially sensitive.

“But, this outlines the absolute commitment this administration has to see this land move on and become a fantastic site that will bring new jobs and more opportunities to all our residents across the county, wherever they live.

“This is going to be a very important employment area. We’re going to bend over backwards as w have for the past year and a half to make sure we do everything we can to get the employment opportunities within that particular area.

“This something that’s very important to us.”