A SHOCK announcement that Hinkley Point B nuclear power station’s rateable value is set to soar by over 300 per cent next year set alarm bells ringing in West Somerset this week.

District council chiefs held a crisis meeting on Wednesday to plan a response to the news that the Valuation Office Agency is to increase the station’s rateable value from just over £8 million to £29.5 million, to come into effect next April.

A council spkesman told the Free Press yesterday (Thursday) that the authority was urgently seeking clarity from both the government and the VOA about what the unprecedented valuation hike would mean.

While there was a possibility that it could bring the hard-pressed council extra income, there were also fears that the new valuation could double the government tariff paid by the council to £5.8 million a year and put even more pressure on its finances.

A spokesman for EDF Energy confirmed yesterday that they were in discussions with the VOA but did not want to prejudice the talks by releasing further information at the moment.

“We understand the concerns of the local council. The issues they are concerned about are as a result of the system that is in place for the distribution of business rates and not as a result of our activities relating to business rates – which include the legitimate right of appeal if required,” she said.

“Hinkley Point B makes a major contribution to the local economy through its spending on services and jobs as well as local and national tax.”

West Somerset Council leader Cllr Anthony Trollope-Bellew and his deputy Cllr Mandy Chilcott met local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger on Wednesday to work out a strategy for what they believe is a “threat to the stability of the council’s financial planning”, and to call for government safeguards.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said after the meeting: “The new valuation figure is out of sync with every other power station in the country. It has been a shock to everyone but I am confident that we can work out some sort of reasonable solution.”

He added that he was already in touch with the National Audit Office and was hopeful that there would be a re-assessment of the new valuation figure.