nuclear-news

Housing unaffordability – implications for Somerset with huge increase in nuclear workers for Hinkley Point C

EDF Energy is once again in talks with Somerset Council to negotiate an
increase in workers on the site. Cllr Leigh Redman, Bridgwater Town Council
spokesperson for Nuclear Issues, said that the original development consent
order (DCO) signed by the secretary of state, indicated that at peak the
number of workers on site would be 5,600.

This number was since raised to
8,600 due to the conversion of Pontins in Brean to become an accommodation
site for Hinkley Point C workers, which is now full. Back in November 2023,
EDF Energy approached the council to bring the workforce to over 10,000 as
the project entered its ‘peak construction phase’.

There are now over
11,000 workers at Hinkley Point C, and EDF plans to bring in more staff in
the near future. Cllr Redman said that although he appreciates the good
things EDF Energy has brought to Bridgwater, he feels people are losing out
on housing due to the company’s ‘disregard for limits set and agreed’. The
Bridgwater Town Councillor also explained that he frequently receives
messages from people struggling to find affordable properties to rent
locally, including one family of three squashed into a third floor flat
with nowhere to go.

 Bridgwater Mercury 9th Jan 2024

https://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/24036533.edf-talks-somerset-council-workforce-increase/

 Somerset 9th Jan 2024

https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/24036578.edf-talks-somerset-council-workforce-increase/

January 12, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK