A NEW nuclear power station at Hinkley Point is expected to give West Somerset’s economy a major boost with up to 5,000 people needed to complete the project.

EDF Energy, the company behind the plans, is about to embark on the next stage of consultations into its proposals for Hinkley Point C.

The energy firm says its project remains fundamentally the same but it has developed the details after considering feedback from the previous stage of its consultation.

EDF now says about 5,000 people in Somerset will work on site at some stage of the construction period, with up to 1,250 local people employed at any one time.

Anti-nuclear campaigners have claimed many of the jobs will not go to local people but an EDF spokesman said: “The opportunities for Somerset people will include construction, mechanical and electrical and civil engineering, as well as professional, administrative and support roles.”

The company says the power station will need 900 operational staff, up to 95% of whom are expected to live in Somerset.

The company is also investing £6million in local colleges.

Meanwhile, at a full meeting of West Somerset Council on Tuesday, councillors met to discuss a plan to regenerate Williton over the next ten years, in light of the proposed Hinkley Point development.

Independent Cllr Edwin May, Williton's representative on the district council said: “We still don't know whether things like a park and ride will be built in Williton because of Hinkley Point - it has neither been confirmed or denied.

“We also don't know how many people might look to settle in the area because of the power station.”

A spanner has also been thrown into the works of the master plan by a planning application from David Gliddon, who owns J. Gliddon & Sons in Bank Street.

He is proposing a multi-million pound development including new homes and a car park in Williton.

A public consultation on Hinkley Point will be held at Danesfield School, Williton, from 12noon to 4pm on February 26.