AROUND 100 caravan pitches could be used to accommodate Hinkley Point C construction workers near Nether Stowey if plans are approved.
EDF Energy has proposed using an agricultural field for 103 caravan pitches at Quantock Lakes (Inwood Farm) until the end of 2025.
A welfare building would be erected to provide toilet and shower facilities, recreation room, site office, kitchen, gym, laundry room and sauna/spa over two floors.
There are already caravans at Quantock Lakes for HPC workers, located to the north of the proposed site for extra pitches.
Consent for those pitches was granted in July 2019 and ran until September 2022. This application also proposes extending the use of this land until construction ends.
The Quantock Lakes and Inwood Farm site comprises a wedding venue, holiday lets, commercial lets and a park and ride facility for HPC workers.
The development would be on land to the east of the Quantocks Lakes site. The wedding venue and landscaped lakes are located to the west.
Two of the new caravan pitches would be used by Quantock Lakes' cleaning and maintenance staff. Vehicle parking would be provided for residents.
The land is located a mile east of the Nether Stowey. The site would be reinstated to agricultural land when the construction workers leave the site.
A spokesperson for the applicant said: “The provision of these caravan pitches for use by HPC workers will seek to mitigate the potential impact of the additional non-home-based workforce in Bridgwater and the surrounding rural area which could be experienced as a result of the workforce uplift.
“The provision of additional caravan pitches will enable Hinkley Point C, which is a strategic project and will meet the requirements for low carbon energy once operational.”
The application also seeks the creation of a pedestrian footpath connecting Quantock Lakes with the village of Nether Stowey.
The path would lead from the caravan pitches along the access track to the Inwood Farm site and then next to the A39 for around 500 metres.
The application follows a review of the HPC project that led to an expected rise in the peak number of workers from 5,600 to 8,500.
The Nether Stowey site is one of three proposed caravan parks for HPC workers, which would be used to house a total of 470 workers.
The others would be at Moorhouse Farm in Holford and Mill Farm in Fiddington.
Two nuclear reactors are being built at Hinkley Point C to generate zero-carbon electricity for around six million homes.
EDF has set a target of starting electricity generation at the site in June 2027.
The planning application can be viewed on Sedgemoor District Council's website (36/22/00024). The earlist decision date is January 26.
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