David Hall's rose tinted view of the recent Government bung to the Chinese, 'Hinkley C is expected to provide at least 25,000 jobs during construction', Mercury 27 October, sidesteps major concerns for people in Somerset.

If this ill-conceived project goes ahead:-

Where are all the incomers going to live? What effect will they have on the price local first time buyers have to pay for their first home?

What will come first - extra school age children or the school places for them?

How much longer will the wait for a doctor or hospital appointment be?

How long will we have to wait for ambulances, fire engines or police while they're stuck in Hinkley C traffic jams?

As for the 25,000 jobs, only 5,000 of these will be 'local' and EdeF has defined 'local' as within 90 minutes travel time of Hinkley. So that's everywhere from Exeter to Bristol then, not just Sedgemoor and Somerset.

If it ever gets built, there will only be 900 permanent jobs at Hinkley C, many fewer than the 2,000 jobs already lost in the insulation industry due to Government cutbacks. Improving insulation in houses saves people from wasting money on electricity, but the Government, and it seems Somerset County Council, seem happy to approve subsidies for their massive White Elephant at Hinkley Point instead.

Despite all the PR spin, this is just another false dawn for HPC! Nothing is happening at the site, nor likely to until EdeF fill the black hole in their finances caused by the Chinese only taking a 33.5% stake in the project instead of the 40% expected.

This must be the Windows 8 of nuclear reactors - no one, whether they're in China, Finland or France, can get one to work!

Roy Pumfrey, Stop Hinkley