National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) is constructing a new 400/132kV substation in Woolavington to connect Agratas’ new electric vehicle battery manufacturing factory to the UK’s high voltage electricity transmission network. This will provide a reliable electricity supply to power the facility in the future.
In 2024, Agratas, part of Tata Group, confirmed that it was to build the factory near Bridgwater in Somerset. Construction of the 40GWh factory is now underway, which aims to supply almost half of the batteries needed by the UK’s automotive industry by the early 2030s.
Project overview
We are constructing electricity transmission infrastructure that is crucial for supplying clean power to the Gravity Enterprise Zone, including Agratas’ new Battery Manufacturing facility. has requested a connection to supply power to its battery manufacturing facility.
A new substation is required as our existing substations in the area do not have enough capacity to connect the new factory.
As the operator of the electricity transmission network in England and Wales, NGET is responsible for ensuring the facility has a continuous and reliable source of power to enable its future operations.
Programme updates
12/10/26
Local Development Order (LDO) Compliance Certificate Receieved
Somerset Council has confirmed that the detailed plans for the next stage of the project comply with the relevant planning requirements set out in the Gravity Local Development Order (LDO), allowing the project to progress into the main construction phase. Please use the planning reference 95/26/00001/PRM to view this.
Main Construction
The main construction phase is now underway and is expected to continue into Summer 2029. Local communities will begin to see the substation taking shape, including the installation of above-ground steelwork and deliveries of larger electrical equipment, such as supergrid transformers. We will provide advance notice of activities that may affect nearby residents, businesses or local roads.
All contractors have been briefed to ensure they work responsibly and are considerate of the local community. This includes a briefing on considerate driving and minimising noise when entering and leaving site. We have robust Construction Traffic Management and Construction Environment Management Plans in place.
Investing in communities
A Community Fund of £530,000 will support projects benefiting communities near Woolavington Substation. During Autumn 2026, we will begin speaking with local people and organisations about local priorities and how the fund should be used. We anticipate opening a formal consultation on the funding priorities in early 2027.
Site location
The new substation is located on the eastern side of the Gravity Site. This land is identified in the Local Development Order for energy infrastructure.
The substation is located directly underneath the new high-voltage electricity line that NGET has previously constructed in the area. This avoids the need for any additional pylons or overhead wires.
A temporary working compound, including welfare units and parking for workers, has also been established adjacent to Woolavington Road.
Indicative project timeline
In recent months, a series of early works have been completed on site, including ground and drainage works and the installation of concrete pads. These work packages were agreed with Somerset Council.
Note that this timeline is subject to change as the project progresses through the planning and development stages.
| March 2025 to August 2025 | Agratas carried out early works to prepare a development platform on the main substation site and associated temporary construction compound. |
| September 2025 | Our contractor, Balfour Beatty, established a temporary construction compound adjacent to Woolavington Road. |
| Autumn 2025 to Summer 2026 | Further early works included foundation and civils works to the main development. Works to the existing Overhead Lines facilitated connection to the proposed substation. |
| Autumn 2026 | Main construction phase underway. Installation of above-ground steelwork and major electrical equipment. |
| Summer 2029 | Construction expected to be completed |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Contact details
Please get in touch with our community relations team if you have any questions about the proposed substation at Woolavington
Email: [email protected]
Freephone: 0800 593 0114 Monday to Friday 9am-5pm (An answering service is in place outside of these times)
WhatsApp: Follow our Woolavington Substation WhatsApp Channel, by scanning the QR code, for short construction updates and notices about work that may affect local roads or nearby residents.
Typical construction working hours will be 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. Site set-up, site close-down activities and occasional deliveries may take place outside these hours. Any changes to working hours will be agreed with Somerset Council.
We appreciate that some of our activity can be noisy. The noisiest part of our construction work will be when we need to dig some deep concrete foundations, known as pile foundations. This will be for a limited period. We’ll regularly monitor noise and vibration levels so that they stay within agreed limits and let local residents know ahead of the works starting.
Substations are integral features of the electricity network and convert electricity to a lower voltage so it can be safely delivered to local homes and businesses.
National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) owns and operates more than 300 large substations, where 132kV, 275kV and 400kV overhead power lines or underground cables are switched in voltage so the electricity can be safely distributed to the surrounding areas.
Smaller substations are owned and maintained by local distribution networks, including our Electricity Distribution business, National Grid Electricity Distribution.
Communities will begin to see above-ground steelwork installed as the substation structures take shape, followed by the delivery and installation of major electrical equipment.
A Local Development Order (LDO) provides specified permitted development rights within a defined area, in addition to those that are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order already. By doing this, it removes the requirement for an application for planning permission albeit, confirmation is typically required from the local planning authority (LPA) that the terms of the LDO have been complied with.
LDOs are determined locally and used by LPAs to help accelerate the delivery of appropriate development. LDOs can help enable growth by positively and proactively shaping sustainable development in their area, and by simplifying the planning process and making investment more attractive.
View the Gravity Local Development Order on Somerset Council’s website
We have submitted a detailed Construction Traffic Management Plan as part of our Local Development Order Compliance Submission to Somerset Council, which details our measures for mitigating the effects of road-based construction traffic. This includes the implementation of clear controls, defining hours of operation, specifying appropriate routes for large goods vehicles, and managing the timing of deliveries to minimise disruptions. This plan has been developed in consultation with Somerset Council as Local Highway Authority, National Highways and wider Gravity Delivery Partners.
Our Primary construction access will be via Enterprise Way and Woolavington Road. Should access to our site be restricted via this route and/or via the main Gravity site, we may need to consider alternative access in consultation with the local highway authority.
In such circumstances, alternative access would be via A39 and B3141, however we will do our best to limit this. No construction traffic, at any time, is to enter or leave the village via Woolavington Road/Higher Road.
Once the substation becomes operational, we anticipate there will be minimal traffic to and from the site, with around ten cars or light goods vehicles visiting the site each month.
While there may be some disruption, we’ll do all we can to minimise our impact on the local community.
We’ll continue to share programme and construction information with the local community and Somerset Council as well as the Parish Councils. This will help us to better understand how we can minimise the potential impacts of our work. For example, if we need to introduce road closures and how we can minimise potential noise impacts.
We’re committed to being a good neighbour and we’ll work with our contractors to make sure any disruption to the local community is kept to a minimum.
National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) is building two interim 33kV connections which will power the Agratas site until the high voltage 400kV/132kV substation is complete.
Working with the local community
It’s important to us that we keep local people well informed and offer opportunities to ask questions about our plans.
We’ll share regular updates while we’re carrying out these works, to let you know where you might see us working. This includes writing to local residents, Woolavington Parish Council and Puriton Parish Council ahead of any project milestones or works that may affect the community.
If you have any questions, you can contact our Community Relations team by calling 0800 593 0114, Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm (an answering service is in place outside of these times) or emailing [email protected].
EMFs
EMFs are electric and magnetic fields. EMFs are produced wherever electricity is used. Electric fields are produced by voltage and magnetic fields by current flowing through a conductor. Overhead infrastructure is a source of two fields: the electric field (produced by the voltage) and the magnetic field (produced by the current).
National Grid takes the issue of health very seriously and relies on authoritative and independent scientific organisations, such as the World Health OrganizaNational Grid takes the issue of health very seriously and relies on authoritative and independent scientific organisations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), to review the worldwide body of scientific evidence on electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) and health, as well as reviewing the science ourselves.
Health considerations are given a high priority in the process by which we arrive at any proposals for new routes for electricity connections. Our approach is to ensure that all our assets comply with the guidelines set by Government on advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). A vast amount of research has been done into the possibility of health effects, without establishing any risks below these levels.