ANTI-nuclear campaigners will be holding a protest at Hinkley Point on Sunday against developer EDF Energy's plans for Hinkley Point C.

Stop Hinkley will be hosting a day of talks and workshops tomorrow (Saturday) in Bridgwater and has organised a midday demonstration outside the gates of Hinkley Point on Sunday.

Tomorrow's speakers at Trinity Hall, Bridgwater, include Ben Ayliff of Greenpeace, Neil Crumpton formerly of Friends of the Earth and now of the Bellona Institute and Professor Chris Busby of Green Audit.

The talks and workshops take place from 11am to 5pm and will culminate with an evening dance for campaigners and their supporters at Unity House, Bridgwater, from 8pm to midnight.

The following day, protesters are being urged to arm themselves with placards and banners for a midday demonstration at Hinkley Point.

Organisers are also planning a guided tour of the proposed Hinkley C site, which they say will be "desecrated by EDF in advance of approval for the nuclear plant".

As previously reported in the Free Press, Stop Hinkley has accused EDF of planning to "trash" the site by carrying out clearance work before even securing planning permission for the new station.

Spokesman Jim Duffy said: "EDF says it will 'restore' the site to its original state if it does not receive planning permission for the power station.

"This is impossible - you cannot recreate a landscape that has taken hundreds of years to mature."

EDF confirmed it hoped to apply for permission in the coming weeks to carry out "preliminary works" at the site, but stressed such actions were "entirely in keeping with planning law, policy and practice".

A company spokesman said EDF had made no secret of its plans, which would include "site preparation" and the construction of a temporary sea jetty to enable the "early construction and operation" of a new nuclear power station.

Stop Hinkley is planning to round-off Sunday's protest with a picnic at the site of the proposed sea jetty.

Mr Duffy said the Hinkley C site was more than four times the size of the existing A and B sites put together and he had real concerns about the impact of the development on the local flora and fauna.