According to Construction News, work at Hinkley Point C will boost the south west construction market by £ 500m over the next two years. The plant will be delivered by French energy giant EDF in partnership with the help of Chinese funding. The government announced its approval for the £ 18billion project after securing tweaks to the agreement. There will also be‘ significant new safeguards’ on future foreign investment in nuclear power. But there are no changes to the £ 30billion subsidy deal, which means the government will guarantee to buy energy from the plant at roughly double the current wholesale prices. The Prime Minister dramatically pressed pause on the project and ordered a review soon after taking over from David Cameron in July last year. The move, after around eight years of tortured negotiations, took Beijing by surprise and sparked thinly-veiled threats about the impact on relations between the countries- which Mr Cameron and George Osborne had put great effort into fostering.

SUMMIT SPEAKERS The economic value of the project will be discussed by David Sutton, delivery director at EDF, at the South West Construction Summit on 9th June at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol. The Somerset site will help the south west to become the UK’ s fastest-growing region in terms of construction activity in 2018, with output set to grow by two per cent in 2017 and 1.3 per cent in 2018, according to forecasts. Construction

forecaster Hewes & Associates predicts that work at Hinkley will add between £ 400m and £ 500m to industry activity in the region during 2017 and 2018. The predictions indicate that the south west will make up 7.4 per cent of the UK’ s total construction output by 2018- up from 6.9 per cent in 2016. Organisers of the South West Construction Summit say it is an opportunity to hear from a representative of EDF who is directly involved with the Hinkley Point C project, and the Q & A session will provide answers to questions about the development. The summit will explore ways to address the obstacles that potentially impact the future success of the UK construction industry, whilst focusing on three intrinsically linked key themes: Skills and

Image, Productivity and Sustainability- delivered by 12 leading construction exponents in the region. The summit will highlight how the industry can approach and resolve these pressing issues through the experience and learnings from the prominent speaker line-up. Speakers include:

• Mike Borkowski- Southern Construction Framework

• Alexis Field- Highways England

• Nathan Waller- Natwest Bank

• John Boughton- Willmott Dixon

• Emma Osmundsen- Exeter City Council

• David Sutton- EDF Energy

• Councillor Paul Smith- Bristol City Council

• Leif Tarry- CITB

‘ a platform to identify improvements’

A full speaker programme is available to download from: www. constructingexcellencesw. org. uk / summit By facilitating knowledge exchange and networking with influential regional construction leaders, the summit provides a platform to identify improvements throughout the south west construction industry, whilst also creating an opportunity to acquire crucial information from industry experts on how they have overcome key issues, through process, product innovation and enhancing perceptions. For more information, or to book a place at the summit, visit: www. constructionsummitsw. co. uk

The South West Construction Summit is followed on the same day by the South West Built Environment Awards- celebrating the best projects, people and products in the south west region. Submitting an awards entry is FREE and can be done online via: www. constructingexcellencesw. org. uk / presentations / awards For help in getting involved in either event please call 01743 290001.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES Energy company EDF says the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant is a multi-billion-pound investment project that will provide secure, affordable, low-carbon energy to around five million homes in the UK and create thousands of job opportunities in Somerset and beyond. Over the construction period, 25,000 new employment opportunities will be created, and once built, it is estimated that 900 people will work at the site during its 60 years of operation. In particular, as part of this investment EDF says it has committed:

• £ 20m to help improve socio-economic wellbeing through dedicated community funds.

• Over £ 11m to support the provision of employment and skills for local people.

• Almost £ 16m to the improvement of roads and infrastructure in the surrounding area.

• £ 3m into its Inspire education programme for young people.