WEST Somerset could get just £2 million from the £10 billion proposed Hinkley C development, district councillors were warned on Wednesday.

Council leader Cllr Tim Taylor said the authority's negotiations with developer EDF Energy have been "intensive and focussed" as the authority fights to secure more than "a few sops" from the power giant.

He said the district council was at the forefront of negotiations to secure community benefits from the proposed development and mitigate the impact of a new power station.

But he warned that West Somerset was geographically out on a limb and EDF had been unwilling to do anything that did not benefit the energy firm itself.

He criticised EDF's ongoing consultation process and said the firm was not keen to engage with people locally and had ignored the implications its proposals could have on communities

"There seems little indication that EDF is willing to consider proposals at this stage that do not benefit them, other than a few sops," said Cllr Taylor.

"Local people deserve some tangible benefits from the Hinkley Point development and these should be continuous and long-term.

"After all, it is envisaged that some 3,700 tonnes of toxic nuclear waste will be stored on site for up to 160 years.

"In short, EDF is proposing what is in its interests to propose.

"EDF has shown poor levels of engagement, produced inadequate evidence for its proposals, lacked joined-up thinking, given inadequate consideration to local people and has generally ignored the true implications for the area.

"There has been a poor commitment to mitigation and nothing of much re community benefit - so far in West Somerset, £1 million for a community fund for the immediate area and £1 million for a construction apprenticeship learning hub, the details of which are vague."

He said EDF believed its contribution to the community was job creation and the resultant boost to the local economy.

But Cllr Taylor said the construction of a new power station came with threats as well as benefits:

"Wage rates may increase, thus threatening local businesses and creating labour shortages, rents and property prices may increase, thus excluding local people.

"There is even a risk that local people may not be able to afford rented accommodation, this placing them on the council's housing list.

"There is also a threat that removing accommodation available to tourists may have adverse effects on the tourism industry."

He told councillors the authority was working hard to minimise the environmental harm posed by the project and to maximise social and economic benefits.

"West Somerset Council is playing a full and active role in all aspects of the project," he said.

"We are quite rightly at the forefront of what is happening. We are not a second-class partner.

"Our officers, along with their colleagues at the county council and Sedgemoor District Council, are working closely on robustly and rigorously analysing and testing EDF's proposals, and I am confident that our response in September will be technically correct and will also reflect the views of our community."

Cllr Taylor made his comments after Cllr Jon Freeman claimed local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger had told him the council had been left behind in negotiations and the district would gain little more than a temporary car park from Hinkley C.

In a direct question to Cllr Taylor, Cllr Freeman also claimed the Tory MP had told him he was "frustrated" by the district council's failure to keep him up to date with progress.

"Our local MP has informed Cllr Hugh Davies and myself that he is constantly frustrated and unable to promote the views and interests of West Somerset in Government, with the nuclear industry or elsewhere, because unlike Sedgemoor District Council who, in his view, pursue their own interests aggressively, this council does not keep him informed of anything we might hope to gain from developments at Hinkley Point.

"He further expressed the view that our failure in this respect was sufficient to explain why Sedgemoor seem set to secure numerous tangible benefits, including new educational facilities, whereas all West Somerset had to look forward to was 'a car park in Williton, and a temporary one at that',"Cllr Freeman said.

Cllr Taylor said he had been in regular communication with Mr Liddell-Grainger, attended numerous meetings with him and more were planned for the coming weeks.

"The reality is that national and local transport links to Hinkley Point are largely through Bridgwater," he said.

"Bridgwater and its surrounds form the main population centre and Bridgwater has the local secondary/tertiary college.

"The bulk of West Somerset is separated from Hinkley Point by the Quantock Hills and other than the immediate communities of Shurton, Burton and Stogursey, West Somerset as a whole has a lesser part in EDF's thinking.

"But, of course, Hinkley Point is in West Somerset and we will be heard and we will get our views across," Cllr Taylor said.