How is Hinkley Point C benefiting the local community?

Alongside Hinkley Point C’s vital role in providing the country with secure low-carbon electricity, I’m very proud of the significant benefits we provide to our local communities. Maximising the benefits of Hinkley Point C has been a long term collaborative effort, but one which I’m confident will also lead to much longer term opportunity for people and businesses across Somerset and the Sout West.  

Andrew Cockcroft is responsible for ensuring that Hinkley Point C continues to work collaboratively with external partners to maximise the social and economic impact of Hinkley Point C. With an academic background in sustainability and energy policy, Andrew has been part of the Hinkley Point C project for over a decade – initially working as part of the team developing the planning application that provided the go-ahead for the first new nuclear power station in a generation.

Each year, I bring together Hinkley Point C’s Socio-economic and Environmental Impact Report. It’s the chance to analyse the latest data and track of our commitments, but most importantly to bring to life the people and organisations behind the numbers. 

Our community fund is at the centre of our work in the local area and designed to support those experiencing change whilst whilst maximising the huge opportunities available. Since we opened the fund, more than £20 million has been awarded to 385 local projects, in turn helping to unlock a further £8.4 million in match funding. Feedback from the funded organisations themselves suggest that so far, we have helped more than 600,000 people across Somerset.

Behind the statistics are hundreds of local organisations using our grants to do amazing work every day. From supporting young people and improving community facilities, to helping to create opportunities for people, of all ages, across Somerset. They include the incredible work of the Wilstock Hub, StreetLinkz Youth Hubs and the Nelson Trust in Bridgwater. 

Our project is also playing an important role in overcoming a significant UK and regional productivity challenge. West Somerset has been consistently recognised as one of the least socially mobile places in the country¹. Given our location, this represents a significant opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives – helping them to reach their potential, upgrade their skills and access well-paid, long term careers. 

From small beginnings and together with University Centre Somerset College Group, we have now trained 19,500 people through our Centres of Excellence in Bridgwater and Cannington. Many of these people are being supported through an apprenticeship at Hinkley Point C. We originally set ourselves a target of training 1,000 new apprentices; a target that has been well and truly beaten with over 1,700 apprentices trained so far.

Isabella Noble from Weston-Super-Mare is a great example of what can be achieved. Isabella joined Hinkley point C as an apprentice and is now a project manager. Isabella began her career journey with Hinkley Point C in 2019 when she started her business administration apprenticeship. Once graduating she moved into a role as an assistant project manager and was given further support to continue her training through an HPC sponsored Project Management qualification. This then led to the project sponsoring her 4-year Digital and Technology Solutions degree which she is now completing whilst working on the project.

A big nuclear project also comes with a big economic boost for the local area. As construction reaches its peak, my team continues to support both local and regional businesses into the project’s supply chain. Just like our long-term commitment and work to train and up-skill local people, the efforts are making a real difference. The South West has now seen almost 1,600 of its small and large businesses involved with the construction. Spending in the region is now well above our target with a transformational £5.4 billion invested into the area so far.

As someone who grew up in Somerset, I remain very proud of everything we have achieved so far. But this is not the end of the story, and we are working to ensure that there is a pipeline of opportunity that extends well beyond Hinkley Point C and into at least 60 years of operations. Somerset and the South West are now firmly on the map as locations that have the skilled people and businesses ready to take on future projects. 

To discover more, read the report here. 

Source: Hinkley Point C Socio-economic and Environmental Impact Report 2026 https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/new-report-measures-hinkley-point-cs-positive-impact-people-and-environment 

1. Social Mobility Index - GOV.UK