Hinkley Point C (HPC) Construction: Monitoring and Auditing Study

Principal Investigator(s): Dr Bridget Durning

Contact: bdurning@brookes.ac.uk

Project start: November 2018

Project finish: July 2019

Funded by: NNLAG

About us

Study on the strategic effects of the construction of the Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station and other Nuclear New Build (NNB) over time:  Hinkley Point C (HPC) Construction: Monitoring and Auditing Study

It is important to learn from the actual experience of new nuclear build (NNB) construction and operation. Resources spent on baseline studies and predictions may be of little value unless there is some way of testing the predictions and determining whether mitigation and enhancement measures are appropriately applied. Such learning involves both impact monitoring (the identification and measurement of actual impacts) and impact auditing (the comparison of actual with predicted impacts). It is of great value both for the more effective management of current projects, and for future consents and licences.

The aim of the study is to understand and document the evolving real impacts (adverse and beneficial) of NNB in the community and on the biophysical environment. There is a particular focus on the extent to which the reality of the impacts compares with predictions as part of the Environmental Statement (ES) and Development Consent Order (DCO) process, and on the strategic effects that are different to those predicted.

The study seeks to explain unforeseen events, how they can be managed and provide recommendations on better planning and assessment processes for future projects.

See research report on RADAR

Constructing a nuclear power station

Research impact

Construction workers

Hinkley Point C (HPC) is one of the largest construction projects in Europe. It is a £20 billion+ investment, employing over 8,000 people at peak, with a construction period of over 10 years.

The Oxford Brookes University study was funded by the New Nuclear Local Authority Group (NNLAG), a consortium of UK authorities with nuclear projects and provides a unique insight into the actual local impacts of the early construction years of this Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).

The study is already having significant effects on the developer and local authority monitoring and management of the current HPC project, and the planning and impact assessment of the proposed Sizewell C (SZC). Presentations have been made by Professor John Glasson to local authority groups, and national government participants, in both Somerset (re HPC) and Suffolk (re SZC).

Visiting Professor Martin Broderick and Professor John Glasson have also delivered webinars to several major consultancies and to the membership of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).

In August 2020, the research team (Glasson, Broderick and Dr Bridget Durning) were awarded a further contract by the Somerset authorities to review the local implications of new proposals by the HPC developer, EDF, to introduce a major uplift in the HPC site construction workforce numbers.

Membership

Staff

Name Role Email
Professor Martin Broderick Visiting Professor & Examining Inspector for National Infrastructure Projects, Planning Inspectorate mbroderick@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Bridget Durning Reader in Environmental Assessment & Management bdurning@brookes.ac.uk
Professor John Glasson Professor Emeritus in Planning and Impact Assessment jglasson@brookes.ac.uk
Ms Kellie Welch Associate Researcher/Lecturer kwelch@brookes.ac.uk

Image credits

Images courtesy of EDF Energy.