A SPECIAL meeting has been called as plans to carry out preparation work for a new power station at Hinkley Point were recommended for approval by West Somerset Council.

Sedgemoor District Council will meet in Bridgwater on Monday to discuss EDF Energy’s Site Preparation Works application after its west Somerset counterparts recommended plans for approval - subject to conditions - following a detailed officer’s report.

Councillors will be given a summary of consultation responses and briefed on other Hinkley Point C nuclear new build matters.

They will also be asked to approve Sedgemoor District Council’s involvement in planning conditions and as signatories to the Section 106 agreement if planning permission is granted.

EDF’s preparation work plans include site clearance, earthworks, drainage, and building car parks, haulage roads and roundabouts.

West Somerset Council’s planning committee will meet on July 28 to make a final decision on the preparation plans.

A spokesperson for West Somerset Council said if the committee gives plans the go-ahead, permission would be subject to the prior completionn of a Section 106 agreement to “deliver measures designed to minimise and mitigate the impacts of the development on the communities affected.”

EDF Energy’s director of planning and external affairs of nuclear new build, Richard Mayson, said: “We are pleased with the council officers’ recommendation and are grateful for the support shown for our proposals, but we recognise that it is for the council members to decide the application on its merits.”

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