Foreign Office Minister and Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane, Jeremy Browne called in at EDF Energy's Hinkley Point site this month to see for himself plans for a new nuclear power station.

As well as discussing the project with members of the construction site management team, Mr Browne also took the opportunity to tour the operational Hinkley Point B power station. The MP met several of his constituents who work at the power plant and was shown around the site by station director, Mike Harrison.

Mr Browne was told that there would be an annual boost of around £100 million to the regional economy during construction of the C station, with a further £40 million for each year of operation. At peak of construction, 5,600 people would be working on site and a permanent workforce of 900 would be needed to operate the power station.

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Mr Browne said: "Hinkley Point C is a massive development project. It is comparable in scale to the construction of the London 2012 Olympic Park. There are obviously strong feelings about nuclear power on both sides of the debate. However this will provide a real economic opportunity for the area due to the amount of people working on the construction site. Many staff will actually be based in Somerset for years, so we should also think about longer-term services. This was my first visit to Hinkley Point and found it interesting and enjoyed meeting and discussing the site with the dedicated staff who work there."

EDF Energy's B station director Mike Harrison said: "We were very pleased to welcome Jeremy Browne to site and for him to have the opportunity to meet just a few of our many employees who live in his constituency. Jeremy was clearly interested in hearing about the contribution that we make to the Somerset area and of our plans for a new power station capable of supplying 5 million homes."

(CD)