A SENIOR councillor has called on his colleagues to "start taking Hinkley seriously" in the week the Government effectively cleared the way for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point.

West Somerset Council's environment portfolio holder Cllr Chris Morgan, who is also vice-chairman of Stogursey Parish Council, said the authority appeared to be doing little to quell community fears it had "no idea what was about to happen".

"Will this council be discussing Hinkley any time soon - or shall we leave it to the last minute?" he asked at Wednesday's full council meeting.

He said villagers in the closest parishes to the proposed development were fed up waiting and had started to take things into their own hands by organising meetings directly with Hinkley C developer EDF Energy.

His comments came in the week the Government announced that land alongside the existing Hinkley stations had been included in a list of ten approved sites across England and Wales deemed "suitable" for the next generation of nuclear power stations.

EDF Energy, which also owns Hinkley Point B, said the news meant it could forge ahead with its plans for a twin reactor station and the first stage of a formal consultation.

But with that consultation scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, the clock is ticking for West Somerset Council, which only has until mid January to formulate its response to the consultation.

It will also have to come up with ideas on how it would like to spend the millions of pounds likely to be generated for the community in 'planning gain' money if the development is given planning permission.

But it appears the authority has yet to even appoint a specialist to fight its corner after executive director Adrian Dyer admitted the council did not currently have the "capacity" to deal with the community benefit aspect of the scheme.

He said EDF were scheduled to give councillors a presentation on December 9, while a special council meeting would be held on January 13 to allow councillors to draw-up a response to the consultation - two days after the official deadline for responses will have passed.

He also sought to reassure Cllr Morgan that plenty of work was going on behind the scenes and said planning manager Andrew Goodchild currently spent 75 per cent of his time on Hinkley-related matters.

But privately, both councillors and senior officers have admitted they have "real fears" West Somerset could lose out to bigger neighbour Sedgemoor when it comes to the money expected to be generated for the community by a new-build nuclear power station.

In unguarded comments made at a council meeting last month, councillors said they believed the authority would be "shafted" by Sedgemoor District Council in negotiations over which authority gets what from EDF.

Both Sedgemoor and West Somerset have closed their public swimming pools in recent times and are banking on planning gain cash from EDF to bolster community facilities.

But Cllr Morgan is adamant any money from EDF must be focused primarily on the parishes likely to be affected most by the development.

He said the scale of the project would be enormous and villagers were "frightened and confused" by the potential implications.

"I hear comments that Sedgemoor will get this and we won't get that and that we don't seem to be taking this seriously.

"Can we start taking this seriously and start discussing it?" Cllr Morgan said.

He said the impression that Sedgemoor was very much in control - its officers already lead the Somerset Nuclear Energy Group - had been made worse by a BBC television story on Hinkley Point, which featured an interview with Sedgemoor District Council chief executive Kerry Rickards.

Mr Dyer stressed that everyone involved was well aware Hinkley was in West Somerset not Sedgemoor and said no one from his authority had been asked for an interview by the BBC.

Cllr Roger Webber said he hoped the council would complain to the broadcaster, while Cllr Bryan Leaker suggested holding a council meeting in the parishes around the Hinkley site to show its commitment both to the development and local residents.

It is likely a planning application for Hinkley C will be submitted before next summer with a final decision taken by a new, national Infrastructure Planning Commission.

If everything goes according to plan, the UK's first new nuclear plant for more than 20 years could be up and running at Hinkley by 2017.

EDF chief executive Vincent de Rivaz hailed the Government's confirmation of the suitability of the Hinkley site as a vital step on the road towards an "affordable low-carbon future".

Mr de Rivaz said: "The UK needs massive investment in infrastructure to meet its carbon targets and maintain energy security.

"It is vital that this investment is in low carbon technologies. Nuclear is a vital part of that mix to help provide secure, affordable and clean energy."

EDF was the first to confirm its plans for new nuclear plants in the UK and is hoping to build four new reactors.

The firm estimates the new stations would produce enough electricity to power 40 per cent of all homes in the UK, while thousands of jobs would be created both during the construction phase and thereafter.

"For construction our project will lead to a further 150 contracts being let.

"There will be about 4,000 jobs on site at the peak during construction as well as nearly 1,500 direct jobs for the 60-year life of the plants," Mr de Rivaz said.

* Public consultation sessions and exhibitions will be held in locations, including: Saturday November 28, Cannington Village Hall from 10am to 4pm; Wednesday December 2, Stogursey Victory Hall from 2pm to 8pm; and Saturday December 5, Danesfield Middle School in Williton from 10am to 4pm.