The Council has worked closely with members of Somerset Larder – whose members include Minehead-based tea and coffee specialist DJ Miles - to support the local food and drink sector and encourage greater collaboration to stimulate the local supply chain.
Council Leader, Cllr Tim Taylor, said: “This is a major and significant achievement and shows how successful we can be by working together. Securing a contract of this magnitude is excellent news.
“As a Council we have worked hard to maximise the opportunities afforded by the proposed development at Hinkley Point C and will continue to do so for the benefit of West Somerset.”
Paul Marsh, Director of Miles Tea and Coffee, said: “This is a phenomenal achievement for small local companies to be associated with a project of this magnitude.
“It shows that EDF Energy does genuinely want to support local food and drink producers – it will be of real long term benefit for jobs and the area.”
The Council’s support has included the Stepping Up to The Market project in 2012/13 that saw food and drink companies make local links through a “meet the buyer event.” It encouraged collaboration on promotional literature to highlight local food and drink producers, and started to consider options for further collaboration and scaling up production.
The West Somerset Business Conference in 2013 focused on “Working Together for Economic Change”. Workshop topics included “Business collaboration” and “Understanding the procurement process for larger contracts”
West Somerset Council and West Somerset College are also supporting the Somerset Larder group with training requirements to ensure that businesses who form part of the consortium are able to reach the standards demanded by EDF Energy to supply the Hinkley development.
Miles Tea and Coffee, based in Minehead and Porlock is one of the founding members of the consortium. Others include Cricketer Farm, Pyne’s the Butchers, Taylor Shaw, Gundenham Dairy, Cossey’s Fruit and Vegetables and Mortmer’s Bakery – all Somerset based businesses.
The consortium is still eager to hear from other local food producers interested in becoming a member to supplying Hinkley. To register on the supply chain portal go to www.hinkleysupplychain.co.uk