THE prospect of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point moved a step closer this week as the company behind the scheme formally lodged plans for a raft of preliminary - but major - work.

The controversial proposals from EDF Energy involve a site stretching to more than 400 acres from the Severn Estuary to the village of Shurton and include the construction of roads, roundabouts and car parks.

In addition to clearing and levelling the land, which will mean the loss of hedgerows, woodland and grassland, around 11 kilometres of footpaths will be diverted - including one kilometre of the nationally important South West Coast Path.

The company is also planning a series of excavations and the relocation of drainage works, including culverts, outfalls and balancing ponds.

The estimated 3.2 million cubic metres of soil and rocks to be removed is said to be more than was dug out to prepare the site for 2012 London Olympic Games stadium.

The application comes ahead of EDF's bid for planning permission for the power station itself, which is expected to be decided next year by the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

The company said it was making the application for the preliminary work now to ensure that the necessary infrastructure would be in place to allow construction to start as early as possible, with minimum disruption to local communities.

It has pledged to reinstate the site if consent is not granted for the power station.

But opponents accused it of jumping the gun by applying to destroy the countryside before it even had to go ahead to build on the site.

Campaigning group Stop Hinkley said the preliminary works in advance of the construction of what would be Britain's largest nuclear power station would involve razing the site and filling in a beautiful valley.

It said EDF even planned to start excavation on the power station foundations.

Stop Hinkley has previously criticised the company for "evicting" badgers from the site by blocking off their setts.

"EDF have already shown that they have precious little regard for the countryside," said Stop Hinkley spokesman Crispin Aubrey.

"Now they are about to treat it with contempt by trashing over 400 acres of woodland, cornfields and coastline.

"This is jumping the gun on a massive scale. The company says it will restore the site to its original state if it fails to gain permission for the Hinkley C Station - this would be impossible.

"You can't recreate a landscape that has taken generations to mature."

Consent for the preliminary work will be decided by West Somerset Council, the local planning authority, which has yet to formally register the application, meaning it is not available for the public to view.

A spokesman for the authority said its planning team was currently checking that EDF had submitted all the necessary information and, if complete, the plans were expected to be registered early next week.

They would then be available for inspection on the council's website or at its headquarters in Williton.

Council leader Cllr Tim Taylor described the application as "a serious one" that would have to stand on its own merits.

Only last week he met EDF chiefs at the House of Commons with West Somerset's MP Ian Liddell-Grainger to voice concerns about the impact of the company's proposals.

He made it clear that the council would not be pushed into making a hurried decision.

The authority's planning manager Andrew Goodchild said the application was complex, with many wide-ranging impacts that would need to be carefully considered.

"Once we are sure we have all the necessary information, we will write to residents, local councils and interest groups as well as a wide range of statutory consultees, including the Environment Agency, Natural England and English Heritage, as well as consulting with our partner authorities of Sedgemoor District Council and Somerset County Council."

Mr Goodchild said at the same time officers would begin examining the detailed content of the application from a technical perspective.

He said more details of the consultation process would be announced shortly.

"We will provide more information on how to make comments and provide points of contact over the coming days.

"We have been expecting the application for a number of months and will now put our carefully laid plans into action to start the process of consultation and consideration of this significant proposal."

EDF's director of planning and external affairs for nuclear new build Richard Mayson said the application marked a key stage in the project.

"We recognise that, as well as the many benefits that a new power station will bring to the area, there will also be an impact locally," he said.

"We will ensure that any significant adverse effects are appropriately mitigated in a way which is environmentally responsible and sensitive both to the needs of the community and to the strategies of the relevant local authorities."

EDF predicts the new twin reactor power station would generate a £500 million-plus boost to the South West economy through the employment of up to 5,000 people on site during the construction phase.

An estimated 900 permanent jobs are expected to be created during the 60-year operation of the plant, injecting a further £40m per year into the local economy.

If the power station is given the go-ahead, the first reactor is expected to come on stream in 2018, with second coming online about 18 months later.