Sedgemoor District Council has this week launched this online video to demonstrate how it has campaigned for community funding to offset the development of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
The launch of the video, ‘Empowering Communities – Community Benefit’, coincides with this week’s announcement by the Government that a deal had been agreed with EDF to build Hinkley Point C near Burnham-On-Sea.
Leader of Sedgemoor, Councillor Duncan McGinty, pictured, said: “This film tells the story of Sedgemoor’s Community Benefit campaign, which lasted around five years, and could see local communities receive up to £128million.”
“With the ‘strike price’ now agreed and the Community Benefit package confirmed, SDC will continue to develop initiatives to ensure the local community capitalises on its role as a pioneer in the new nuclear age.”
The Department for Energy and Climate Change announced in July a package of £128m of funding for Somerset to offset the development of Hinkley Point C.
£3.2m per year has been offered to communities near the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, including Bridgwater, West Somerset and the Burnham-On-Sea area.
The deal, totalling £128m, will last for 40 years, which is the planned lifetime of Hinkley Point C, however there was concern that the money is not scheduled to be available until the new power station is built and generating electricity, which is estimated to be up to 10 years.
The Community Benefits will be shared by the communities affected by the plant. The money could be used for a range of local projects for those who will not see any direct and tangible benefits themselves, such as facilities for the elderly and measures to address fuel poverty.
