RESIDENTS living near the proposed Hinkley C site look likely to have to endure six months of additional construction work after developer EDF Energy identified contaminated land within the plot earmarked for the new power station.

Hundreds of additional vehicles will have to travel through Stogursey and Cannington if permission is given for the firm to deal with "asbestos containing material".

The waste was discovered in and around a nine metres high mound of "surplus construction and demolition spoil" from the construction of Hinkley Point A power station between 1958 and 1965.

Campaigners from Stop Hinkley have accused EDF of trying to jump the gun and begin work on the preparation of the site before permission is given for either preliminary works or the power station itself.

But the power giant is adamant the application should be treated in isolation of all other proposals due to the discovery of the contaminated material.

Members of Somerset County Council's regulation committee will be advised to treat the application on its own merits when they meet on Thursday.

As the waste planning authority, it will be up to the county council to decide whether to give the plan the go-ahead.

Officers will advise councillors that having discovered asbestos in the soil mound, any landowner would be expected to take the correct course of action and seek to remedy the situation, irrespective of any future developments.

Office Philip Higginbottom said further weight could be given to the argument if West Somerset Council stipulated that no preliminary works could be carried out until the county council was satisfied all contaminated material had been removed.

He will tell the committee EDF had estimated that 4,100 cubic metres of "un-segregated contaminated material" was within the mound, with a further 553 cubic metres in "hotspots" around it.

The firm was proposing to only remove the hotspot material outside of the mound, while the remaining "low risk" asbestos material from the mound itself would be used as backfill elsewhere on-site.

The work would involve the construction of a temporary area to stockpile and segregate materials, a temporary contractors' office and a temporary 40-space car park.

An existing helipad would also have to temporarily relocate within the site to serve emergency aircraft, the MoD and up to five two-way "commercial flights" each year.

Stogursey Parish Council had raised concerns about the temporary nature of the helipad after it was originally proposed to be constructed from reinforced concrete.

Following discussions, the design was changed to include a specialist plastic permeable surface.

Mr Higginbottom will tell councillors that if permission is given, flights should be restricted to certain hours of the day, as should any lorry movements to and from the site.

He has recommended a condition preventing HGVs from using the site between 6pm and 7am Mondays to Saturdays, together with Sundays and bank holidays.

Vehicle movements should also be restricted to a total of 50 per day during the peak traffic times of 7am to 9am and from 4pm to 6pm.

EDF has estimated that there would be around 80 construction vehicle, 40 HGV and 20 workers' vehicle movements per day at the start of the work, which is scheduled for January.

By February - described as the "peak month" - that would rise to 156 construction workers' vehicles, 40 construction vehicle and 36 HGV movements.

Mr Higginbottom will tell councillors a plea by Cannington Parish Council to restrict the weight of lorries to seven and a half tonnes had been deemed "unreasonable" by highways experts given the existing and proposed traffic flows.

Highways chiefs also believed the additional traffic likely to be generated by the work would not cause a "significant increase in movements over and above the existing levels of background traffic".

Drawing up a pre-agreed routing strategy and temporary signs to divert work traffic would also overcome other perceived problems, Mr Higginbottom will tell the committee.