Jaguar Land Rover's confirmation of a new electric battery "giga-factory" in Somerset has been welcomed by the West of England's Labour Metro Mayor Dan Norris , but says there must be a green transport plan alongside them.

Mr Norris said: "After so many false starts, if the deal is finally done, then this is fantastic news for the West of England. Local workers will be delighted to see 9,000 new green jobs wrapped up in a Union Flag. It shows our region is leading the way as the best place to invest in net zero.

"Given the scale of the potential investment, we have a real opportunity to shape the green jobs revolution, not just here in the West, but nationally and internationally, to ensure these jobs of the future are high-quality, well-paid and unionised."

"However, the lack of a coherent industrial strategy means this historically rail connected site is set to only be accessible by road. That's a mistake."

West of England Mayoral Combined Authority figures suggest in the course of a working year, this commuting by road alone could create 6,635 tonnes of CO2. In addition, under the proposed plan, all of the materials to build the factory will be brought in by road, and when complete, all the components and finished products transported by lorry.

On the need for a refreshed industrial strategy the Mayor said: "A gigafactory is undeniably good news for the West, but we shouldn't let that cloud the fact Britain is crying out for a proper industrial strategy. A one-off piece of positive news doesn't alter that. It should be our ambition to secure the highest sustained and sustainable growth in the G7 by buying, making and selling more in the UK. I am concerned the climate emergency has been overlooked. Is the plan really to bring in everything to build it by road and then create a high employment site reliant purely on cars, lorries and vans? The Government must surely see the irony of green jobs that you can only access by road.

"We have super ambitious net-zero targets, but this really sets us back in the Westcountry. I'm in the process of planting the new Great Avon Wood. But we would need another eight woods to offset the additional carbon emissions from the gigafactory commuting.

"Securing a gigafactory in Somerset has been long in the making, with plenty of false starts - and the sticking point has often been incentives. And it's not just for electric vehicles. I'm aware of other deals in other sectors where the West, and by implication the UK, lost out to other countries offering better deals. Britain needs to decide what it wants its future to look like so as to give businesses long-term certainty to invest; focus research and innovation efforts and make government interventions fit for the 21st century. Our industrial strategy also needs to be developed in true partnership with regions. We don't want Whitehall picking winners but a plan that works for all our nations and regions because they helped shape it."

Mayor Dan Norris, who had face-to-face meetings with Jaguar Land Rover last year, said he has told bosses at the company how keen he is to welcome them to the West of England, stressing that the Gravity site is "super convenient, with Bristol Port on the doorstep", and a host of skilled and enthusiastic local workers living in the region.

"Throughout the instability at the heart of government, over the last two years as Mayor, I have been in touch with all three Prime Ministers about sealing the deal. I have always said that where companies choose to locate is global. It's not a battle between Bristol and Birmingham, but Somerset or Spain. This underlines how we need an effective industrial strategy to buy, make and sell more in Britain."

The Labour Metro Mayor has offered to assist with workforce training through his West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, which is the regional body responsible for skills. "Brunel himself would have been proud of these manufacturing and engineering jobs", says the Mayor, "and on top of this will be the impact of people recruited to work at the factory spending their wages in our local area, boosting local shops, restaurants, tourism and everything from salons to solicitors."

"We already have amazing transferrable skills to offer - our aerospace and advanced engineering cluster is the largest in the UK."

The Gravity site was originally constructed at the start of World War II and was one of a number of Royal Ordinance Factories. The branch line connected to the mainline and was used to transport coal for the on-site power plant and other bulk raw materials needed on site. The bridge over the M5 was constructed in 1970. The connection to the main line was located on the line between Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater stations, near the Huntspill User Worked Crossing (which is still in use). The connection could be reinstated at the same position. The bridge is still there and there but the track and sleepers have been removed.