Responding to the news that Hinkley Point C has received final investment approval from EDF, Jeremy Richards, lead director for the South & Wales region at property consultancy JLL, said:
“Hinkley Point C, Europe’s largest infrastructure project and the first nuclear power station to be built in Britain for a generation, will have far-reaching impacts on the regional economy, creating hundreds of jobs and bringing in billions of pounds of investment.
“It will deliver a major boost to the construction sector; will spark increased demand for commercial property space from suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors involved in the project; and will benefit an array of businesses sectors that will be called upon to supply goods and services for its delivery.
“There is no doubt that the Hinkley project poses challenges too, for example pressures on an already stretched labour supply in the construction sector. But we expect that the sheer scale of the project to offer the reassurance the sector needs to invest in recruitment, encourage workers back into the industry and relocate experienced staff into the area.”
He added: “Nuclear energy is an important part of the UK’s low carbon energy generation and our global climate change commitments. However, we do strongly believe that it should be accompanied by an ongoing sustained focus on renewable energy generation and battery storage in order to move the UK towards a low carbon future.”