EDF said it was working with Natural England, the Environment Agency, and other conservation bodies to develop the new natural habitats.

It plans to take out compulsory purchase orders to acquire the land and then destroy its protective dykes so that saltwater can flood in, according to planning documents.

Dozens of farmers around Pawlett Hams, north of Bridgwater in Somerset, have been told their grazing land is likely to become salt marsh. One said: “It’s an existential threat to farmers’ livelihoods.”

EDF has told local people: “We are proposing to create 340 hectares of salt marsh habitat.

“Salt marsh supports fish populations by providing breeding and feeding grounds whilst also helping to develop local populations of birds, plants, marine mammals, and reptiles.”

Because nature reserves are protected, EDF must also find a second swathe of farmland that can be rewilded.

Will Barnard, chair of the Pawlett Parish Council, who also works as an environmental land manager on some of the affected land, said no-one was happy with the scheme.

He said: “The land is partly nature reserve and partly rough grazing for a mix of local farmers. One of them has a herd of cattle that provides milk for the local area and beef for local outlets which we would lose if the land goes. All the farmers’s livelihoods are at stake and they are very concerned.”

EDF won the contract to build Hinkley Point C just over a decade ago. Costs were estimated at £18bn and it was meant to open in 2025. Costs have since risen to £46bn, equivalent to £700 for everyone in the UK, with an earliest start date of 2031.