1957
Construction of Hinkley Point A by a consortium of English Electric, Babcock & Wilcox Ltd and Taylor Woodrow Construction started.
1965
Hinkley Point A – two Magnox reactors connected to the grid. While primarily planned for peaceful electricity generation, Hinkley Point A was modified so that weapons-grade plutonium could be extracted for military purposes should the need arise. https://theecologist.org/2014/nov/13/worlds-first-nuclear-proliferation-treaty
1967
The construction of Hinkley Point B, by a consortium known as The Nuclear Power Group (TNPG), started.
5th February 1976
Central Electricity Generating Board’s Hinkley Point B starts generating electricity.
1979
Energy secretary David Howell announces 10 new nuclear stations to be built – one each year from 1982 – including at least one (PWR). https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1979-12-18a.287.0&s=Don+Valley
1981
CEGB announces possible extension to Hinkley Point. Alliance against Hinkley C was formed.
25th August 1982
CEGB announces its intention to apply for permission to build a new station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
1986
to prevent confusion with political parties, the ‘Alliance against Hinkley C’ was renamed ‘Stop Hinkley Expansion’ (SHE). Greenpeace, who were campaigning to shut all nuclear power installations, supported SHE enabling 2 part time workers to be employed.
27th Aug 1987
CEGB officially submitted planning application to build a PWR at Hinkley Point to West Somerset District Council.
21st March 1988
Cecil Parkinson, Secretary of State for Energy, announced the setting up of the public inquiry into the CEGB’s plans to construct a PWR at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
4th Oct 1988
Public Inquiry into CEGB proposals starts in Cannington. SHE was central in co-ordinating the opposing groups in the 14 month long public inquiry and in particular linked with Somerset County Council who set up the Consortium of Opposing Local Authorities. Greenpeace UK funded local workers during the campaign, which ensured a high profile in the local media as well as close monitoring of the inquiry proceedings.
1st Dec 1989
Hinkley Inquiry proceedings ended
6th Sept 1990
Inquiry report published. SHE accused Inquiry Inspector, Michael Barnes QC of being “an excellent mouthpiece for the Government’s pro-nuclear policy”. His 3,300-page report comes down in favour of Hinkley all along the line.
12th Dec 1995
Soon-to-be privatised British Energy – owners of Hinkley Point B – abandons plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/britains-nuclear-era-comes-to-an-end-1525259.html
1996
After Hinkley Point C was shelved Stop Hinkley Expansion (SHE) changed its name to Stop Hinkley. The same year saw a successful campaign to shut down one of the nuclear incinerators at the site.
November 1999
Stop Hinkley launches a campaign to shut Hinkley Point A. https://www.laka.org/docu/magazines/stop_hinkley_expansion/she99-5.pdf
23rd May 2000
British Nuclear Fuels announces shut down of Hinkley Point A. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/may/24/nuclear.world
July 2006
Government Energy Review concludes that new nuclear power stations would make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/272376/6887.pdf
2007
EDF boss Vincent de Rivaz in 2007 said Britain would be cooking Christmas turkeys on new nuclear power by 2017. https://www.itv.com/news/2016-09-15/hinkley-point-nuclear-plant-the-key-facts
24th September 2008
French energy giant EDF finally agrees to buy British Energy in a £12.4bn deal. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/sep/24/britishenergy.edf.nuclear EDF says it wants to build two reactors at Sizewell in Suffolk and two at Hinkley Point in Somerset. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/sep/25/edf.britishenergygroup
15th April 2009
The Government publishes a list of eleven potential sites for a new generation of nuclear power plants, including Hinkley Point, which was nominated by EDF Energy. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100430154925/http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn042/pn042.aspx
19th July 2011
Finalised National Policy Statements on Energy and Nuclear are designated in Parliament.
31st October 2011
The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) received EDF Energy’s application for a Development Consent Order for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. The Stop Hinkley Campaign condemns the application as “a dangerous diversion from a genuinely sustainable pathway for the UK’s energy needs”. http://stophinkley.org/PressReleases/pr111031IPCannouncement.pdf Registration to take part in the inquiry is required before 23rd January 2012.
19th March 2013
Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy & Climate change gives planning permission to Hinkley Point C https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21839684
20th Oct 2013
Government completes a deal with EDF after a year of negotiations. EDF Energy will be guaranteed £92.50. index-linked, for each megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity generated for 35 years. Analysts declare themselves to be “flabbergasted”. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/french-will-cash-in-on-uk-nuclear-power-deal-xspgfqqx5g6
15th February 2016
Stop Hinkley joined the international call to “Occupy EDF” by forming a multi-bannered demonstration at King’s Square, Bridgwater outside the old EDF office. A detailed letter was handed to the EDF office, explaining the many reasons why investing in Hinkley C would be a disaster for everybody, including their own organisation.
23rd July 2016
Stop Hinkley joined a national day of action with Nuclear Train Action Group (NTAG) to highlight the transportation of nuclear radioactive waste from Hinkley to the railway station in Bridgwater, and then up the line to Sellafield, passing many big cities on the way including Bristol.
29th Sept 2016
The government and EDF signed the main contract for the new £18 billion Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/29/hinkley-point-ministers-sign-go-ahead-for-nuclear-power-plant
February 2018
Stop Hinkley hosts Lis Fields’ Fukushima photography exhibition called ’20 millisieverts per year’ in Taunton. The exhibition focused in detail on the many different aspects of the disaster that had not been previously publicised
11th Dec 2018
EDF Energy announced the completion of the first part of the concrete pouring for the base slab for unit 1 of Hinkley Point C (HPC). Four more pours of concrete will be required before the so-called “raft” that supports the reactor building will be complete. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Major-concrete-pour-at-Hinkley-Point-C
27th April 2019
Stop Hinkley supported a demonstration at Springfield in Lancashire – a site which imports raw mined Uranium from all over the world and processes it into fuel rods for nuclear power stations and for nuclear warheads.
28th June 2019
EDF Energy announces completion of base for first reactor. https://www.nucnet.org/news/edf-energy-announces-completion-of-base-for-first-reactor-6-5-2019
26th September 2019
The cost of Hinkley Point C (HPC) has increased by as much as £2.9 billion, to £22.5 billion, and it may be delayed by a further 15months – it may not now be ready until 2027. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/50b3a652-dfd3-11e9-9f61-dcefea5f5359
11th March 2020
On the 9th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, Stop Hinkley took a letter to the Leader of Somerset County Council, to draw his attention to the fact that EDF is requesting permission to forego on protecting the fish stocks and breeding grounds of the Severn Rivers catchment area. (See also Press Release dated 8th Oct 2020 http://www.stophinkley.org/PressReleases/pr201008.pdf )
1st June 2020
EDF completes concrete pour for the base of second reactor at Hinkley Point C https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-52882999
2nd July 2020
Stop Hinkley protestors dressed as radioactive barrels go to Hinkley Point to highlight the fact that EDF is planning to dredge 600,000 tons of mud from the Severn Estuary containing historic nuclear particles which have been trapped in the sediments since the 60’s onwards. They plan to dump the mud over in Cardiff Bay.
19th Nov 2020
EDF Energy announces that Hinkley Point B will shut down no later than 15th July 2022 https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/news-releases/uks-most-productive-nuclear-power-station-move-decommissioning-july-2022