Last week attendees began the day at Blackmore Farm, in the 15th-century Manor House where Ian and Ann cooked up a hearty Full English breakfast in the Great Hall, complete with a roaring fire. After lively conversations and networking, everyone headed to Cannington Court and the Hinkley Point Visitor Centre to learn about the site’s history from Hinkley Point A to Hinkley Point B and learn how nuclear energy is generated.
The highlight of the day was visiting the Hinkley Point C construction area, home to around 12,000 workers. That figure will eventually drop to 900 once the plant becomes operational. Attendees were able to see “Big Carl,” officially known as the Sarens SGC-250 crane is widely recognised as the world’s largest land-based crane. Towering at 250 metres, it boasts a 5,000-tonne lifting capacity at a 40-metre radius, powered by 12 engines and rolling along on 96 wheels over 6 kilometres of track.
• Hinkley Point C is expected to power around 6 million homes once operational.
• It aims to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by providing a stable, low-carbon energy supply.
• This will be the first new nuclear power station built in the UK in over 20 years.
Adding the networking element to the tour of Hinkley Point C, created a fantastic opportunity for businesses to meet and take in the incredible surroundings and wonderful of Blackmore Farm. The tour itself was extremely informative and just seeing the sheer scale of the project was mind blowing. I look forward to our next tour at the beginning of October to see even more progress being made on site. Thank you to everyone that attended, to Ian, Ann and the team at Blackmore and to the EDF tour guides Debbie and Marie.
Roger Smith, Chamber General Manager
Special thank you to Anthony Joseph from Visit Bridgwater for taking the photos at the event!
A thank you goes out to everyone who attended and made the day such a success. For those who couldn’t join us or for those who want to check back and see how far the site has progressed, we’re pleased to announce that another tour is planned for the end of this year. We look forward to welcoming you all again and witnessing the continued development of Hinkley Point C together.
