The building of a third nuclear power station at Hinkley Point will change the entire economic landscape of a wide swathe of the West Country, says Bridgwater’s Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger.
And he urged all sides in the much-delayed project to work together to complete the small print of the agreement so a start can be made on construction as quickly as possible.
Mr Liddell-Grainger said the building of the Hinkley Point A and B stations had brought huge, lasting economic benefits to the Bridgwater area.
“But they were modest in comparison to what we will experience over the next decade,” he said.
“The presence of the largest construction project in Europe is not merely going to generate a significant input into the local economy during its lifetime; it’s going to create a wider legacy of prosperity, skill, education and training that will last for generations.
“There is hardly a sector of the local economy, from engineering to agriculture which is not going to derive some benefit from the project.
“Despite all the shroud-waving by a small but highly local anti-nuclear lobby history shows us that the nuclear industry has been nothing but a good neighbour to Bridgwater and West Somerset for the last 50 years.
“Long may that continue.”