Go-ahead for Hinkley Point C staff campsite

A CAMPSITE near a Somerset wedding venue will be able to house Hinkley Point C workers until the end of 2028.

The Quantock Lakes campsite, located off the A39 near the village of Nether Stowey, has been used to house people working on the new nuclear power station since September 2017.

The campsite – which is just up the road from the popular Quantock Lakes wedding venue – was identified by EDF Energy as one of several sites which would need to expand by 2025 as construction ramps up and the total workforce committed to the project grows to more than 8,600 people.

EDF Energy applied with F G Jeanes & Sons Ltd. – which is seeking to build 83 new homes just up the road – to extend the campsite’s operational lifespan and provide up to 145 new caravan pitches within the site.

Somerset Council has now given the green light for the additional pitches to be provided within the site – all of which can remain in place until December 31, 2028.

EDF Energy originally estimated in September 2022 that the Quantock Lakes site would have to provide 103 additional spaces, with the workers using the existing park and ride to reach the power station construction site.

Permission has already been secured for other campsite expansions, with 58 additional pitches coming to the nearby Mill Farm Camping and Caravan Park in Fiddington (approved by Sedgemoor District Council in March 2023) and a further 100 pitches being delivered at Moorhouse Campsite in Holford (approved by Somerset Council in November 2023).

Somerset Council approved the latest plans on Tuesday.