COMPANIES set to be involved in the building of the first UK nuclear power plant in 20 years in Somerset have been named.

EDF has chosen a number of national companies and several Somerset ones as preferred bidders for contracts worth £1.3bn to build Hinkley Point C.

The announcement comes just days after the company announced that a final investment decision is expect over the next few months, which would then see the contracts signed.

Services set to be provided by local companies include catering at the construction site, bussing of the workforce and accommodation management, as well as site utilities and infrastructure.

Construction workers are set to spend around £8 million a year on meals, the workforce bussing contract is set to manage the anticipated 5,000 plus daily passenger return journeys to and from the construction site, while the accommodation management contract will service the 1,500-bed workers’ accommodation campuses.

The combined values of the contracts for companies in the South-West totals more than £225m and includes:

  • Somerset Larder, six Somerset food producers – catering for the workforce
  • HOST, comprising four Somerset companies – managing the workers’ campus accommodation
  • Somerset Passenger Solutions, two Somerset companies – transporting workers to the construction site by bus
  • Somerset Infrastructure Alliance, three South West companies – site infrastructure services including site road maintenance, landscaping, signage and fencing
  • COMA, five South-West businesses – construction utilities including electrical networks across the site and support services

HOST is a new venture of four Somerset companies that have joined forces in order to bid for the accommodation management contract for the proposed Hinkley Point C power station.

CML, Taunton l John West (contractors) Ltd, Weston-super-Mare l Brooking Ruse & Co., Weston-super-Mare l Paragon Laundry, Yeovil

The focus for HOST will be the management of the 1,500-bed accommodation campuses for the workforce.

Somerset Larder was established in 2014 to bring together the county’s finest food and drink producers – to act as one – in order to compete for large catering contracts.

Made up of Cricketer Farms, Nether Stowey l Cossey Produce Ltd, Bridgwater l DJ Miles & Co, Porlock l Pynes of Somerset, Bridgwater l Mortimers Bakery, Yeovil l Gundenham Dairy, Wellington, omerset Larder estimate serving 8,000 meals a day to the workforce.

They plan to provide the site with a full service, one stop catering solution including a central production kitchen and exclusive Somerset sourced products.

Somerset Passenger Solutions, established in order to bid for the Hinkley Point C main bussing contract, is comprised of a 50:50 joint venture between bus operator First Bus and Weston-super-Mare based family business, Crosville Motor Services Ltd.

As part of Hinkley Point C’s planning permissions and commitment to the local community, the vast majority of the workforce will travel to the construction site by bus.

Somerset Passenger Solutions plans to operate high frequency services to the construction site from dedicated Park and Ride sites, staff campus accommodation sites and from surrounding towns and villages for employees living across the area. They estimate employing 300 dedicated staff to manage the anticipated 5,000 plus daily passenger return journeys.

Somerset Infrastructure Alliance will undertake various logistical services to ensure the free movement of the construction teams around the site, including carriageway and footway maintenance, site cleansing, traffic management, winter maintenance and minor civils works. The SIA will also be responsible for co-ordination of all works outside of the main construction areas.

It is made up of Skanska, Taunton, RK Bell Ltd, Bridgwater, Forest Traffic Services, Newport and Bristol

COMA will focus on delivering the construction utilities contract which covers the maintenance and support services needed for the potable and waste water systems on the Hinkley Point C construction site, as well as the high and low voltage electrical networks across the site.

It is made up of Wessex Water, Bath, RM Utilities Ltd, Exeter, Hydroline Solutions Ltd, Somerton, MMES 2012 Ltd, Bridgwater and Boultings Group, Bridgwater office