A Somerset village will be 'squeezed on two sides' by accommodation for Hinkley Point C workers after a camp-site was given permission to expand.

Around 8,600 workers will be needed during the peak of the construction programme on the new nuclear power station – around 3,000 more than originally anticipated.

In addition to the campuses provided in Bridgwater and near the power station itself, EDF Energy is using multiple camp-sites and holiday parks in the surrounding areas to provide accommodation for its workforce.

One of these camps – the Mill Lane Camping and Caravan Park on Watery Lane in Fiddington – will now be expected to provide an additional 58 pitches for workers, with those already living on site expected to remain until December 2025.

The existing camp-site lies north of the A39 between Bridgwater and Williton, a short distance from the existing Hinkley Point C (HPC) park and ride facility at Quantock Lakes and the Cricketer Farm development of 109 homes in Nether Stowey.

EDF originally intended to provide a further 163 pitches when it submitted initial proposals (known as a screening request) to Sedgemoor District Council in March 2022.

Following feedback, this has now been scaled back to 58 additional caravan pitches on the Glebe Field section of the camp-site.

This is on top of the 53 pitches already in use in the Home Meadow part of the site – bringing the total number of HPC workers living on site to 111.

Each of these workers are allowed to live at Mill Farm until December 31, 2025 – though this could be extended at a later date in the event of further delays in the construction process.

In addition to the new pitches, EDF will be building a new welfare block (comprising showers, toilets and dish-washing facilities), relocating the existing multi-use games area (MUGA) and trampoline building, and widening the current access from Church Road.

The council's development committee met in Bridgwater on March 7 to discuss the plans – with numerous local residents expressing their concerns about the scale of the development.

Rod Cole said: "Currently Mill Farm is 385 full-season pitches – 105 more than you thought you had granted, and more than three times the amount that was thought appropriate at a public inquiry.

"We urge you to reject this expansion. You could indicate that you would be sympathetic to an application to use a further 58 existing pitches for HPC use, which would make effective use of the existing infrastructure."

Wayne Hawley, vice-chairman of Fiddington Parish Council, added: "Fiddington is a small village, with no shop, pub or post office. It's in danger of being increasingly squeezed on two sides by the expansion of caravan sites at Mill Farm and Quantock Lakes.

"The road linking the village to the A39 is perfect for the needs of the village, and is too small to be used as a cut-through to Hinkley. This is an over-development of an existing facility."

Councillor Alistair Hendry said the expansion was necessary in order to ensure HPC construction could continue at its current rate.

He said: "Accommodation is a real problem – more of a problem than the entry and exit to this site.

"HPC workers are working all day and all night, and they'd only have two trips in and out, notwithstanding the fact there's a bus service. Another 58 caravans is not a deal-breaker."

After around an hour's debate, the committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of ten votes to one, with one abstention.