WEST Somerset council and political leaders watched as Britain, French and Chinese officials yesterday afternoon (Thursday) finally signed the key contract for the go-ahead for the £18 billion Hinkley Point C nuclear power station at a behind-closed-doors ceremony in London.

“We have been waiting for this moment for ten years,” local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, who was at the signing, told the Free Press.

“The prosperity it will bring to the area is almost incalculable. There will be many challenges but with the deal signed we can finally go ahead.”

The plant, which will power six million homes, is the first UK nuclear station for a generation. The historic agreement has formalised the decision to proceed after Prime Minister Teresa May announced in June that she needed more time.

A spokesman said that the contract between the UK Government, power company EDF Group and China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) marked the start of a new era in low carbon energy production with the construction of Hinkley Point

West Somerset council leader Anthony Trollope-Bellew said that as the council was the host authority for Hinkley Point C, he was delighted to attend such a momentous occasion and to highlight West Somerset’s vital contribution to the £18 billion project.

“Our council has long recognised the enormous economic opportunities that it will bring to our area,” he said.

Full report in the Free Press