Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset visits Hinkley Point C

By EDF | Posted October 13, 2023

His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset visited Hinkley Point C in Bridgwater today (Friday 13th October) to meet with the project’s chaplaincy team and workers from the Christian and Muslim communities.

Mohammed Saddiq and one of his Deputy Lieutenants, Jane Sedgman spoke with the project’s chaplaincy team about the spiritual and pastoral support available for the 10,000 people working to build the new nuclear power station.

Hinkley Point C is the first construction site in Britain to have a salaried chaplain, with the team recently expanding to include 7 volunteer chaplains. Spiritual ceremonies are held before major construction activities, including concrete pours and tunnelling works.

After a tour of the construction site, the Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenant also met with members of the workforce from the Christian and Muslim faiths and took part in Friday prayers.

They were also joined by representatives from Somerset Diverse Communities and Diversity Voice, organisations which work with local minority ethnic groups. Both organisations are supported and funded by Hinkley Point C’s Community Fund.

Ewen Huffman, Hinkley Point C’s Lead Chaplain said:

Our workforce includes a broad mix of people from different backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, and religions – and we’re there for everyone when they need support. We are honoured that the King’s representative in Somerset and his Deputy Lieutenant have visited us to see how this works in practice.”

Mohammed Saddiq, Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset said:

Before I came here today, I realised that this was one of the biggest construction projects in Europe, and I was aware of the huge benefit it is to the Somerset economy - and the wider economy of the region. But it's not until you get on site you get to truly appreciate the scale of it all.

It was fascinating to hear about the progress of the project but also to learn of the efforts the company is making to care for their workforce and to cater for the needs of people from different faiths. In today's workforce that is so important."