Council could use £15m 'to buy back gigafactory land'

A council will set aside £15m of public money in case it needs to buy back land where a battery factory was due to be built, it is understood.

Plans for the gigafactory in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland, fell through after the collapse of Britishvolt, which originally bought the land for £4.8m.

Councillors in Northumberland voted to approve the money – which will be held in reserve - under a so-called “strategic acquisition fund”.

It comes as administrators of the former Britishvolt site said they are in negotiations with a number of potential buyers, external.

Conservative leader Glen Sanderson did not comment on the claims the money will be used to buy back the land, but said the council needed the funds in its "back pocket" if an opportunity arose.

Britishvolt had been tipped to create about 8,000 jobs at the site of former Blyth Power Station, which would have supplied battery packs for new electric cars.

But after the firm went into administration in January 2023 with the loss of more than 200 jobs, the land has remained undeveloped.

Last year, Australia-based Recharge Industries took control of the firm's assets, including an agreement to take on the site for about £8.57m.

However, its administrators EY previously said it was yet to complete the transaction.

On Wednesday, a full council meeting passed a motion to make £15m available, which the BBC understands would allow the authority to take control of the land.

Scott Dickinson, the council's opposition Labour leader, said it would be “embarrassing” if it was forced to buy it back at a higher cost than what it was originally sold for.

But he told BBC Look North the funding would help the authority in “further negotiations with the former Britishvolt site”.

He said the land was currently subject to a "buy back clause," which the council had been “preparing” for, but said it was not known how much of the approved funding would need to be used.

“It’s about strengthening the ability of the council moving forward to negotiate with whoever comes forward to replace the failed companies who have promised things and then gone into administration,” he added.

Mr Sanderson said the money had not been allocated towards any particular project, but said he was “grateful to all political parties” for voting to approve the fund.

“The paper was quite clear, which every member for except two agreed to, which is that we need to make sure we have enough money in our back pocket should an opportunity arise to purchase land or buildings, that we can then use for the value and the future of the county council and our residents."

"This is us arming ourselves for the eventuality wherever it may be to deal with."

EY recently extended its role as administrator of Britishvolt to January 2025 to allow more time for Recharge to relaunch the project or "explore new options", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.