John Penrose

Conservative Party | Weston-super-Mare

Government’s Severn Barrage Plans Don’t Hold Water says Local MP

Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose welcomed yesterday's Government’s announcement of a feasibility study on a Severn Barrage, which would come ashore on the southern edge of Weston Bay, but voiced serious concerns about the way it has been set up.

Mr Penrose said,

“I’m delighted that the government are looking into the feasibility of the Severn Barrage. It is the single largest potential source of non-polluting renewable energy in the UK, equivalent to several conventional or nuclear power stations. There would be no carbon emissions, no nuclear waste to be stored for millions of years, and it could transform the economy of seaside towns like Weston-super-Mare as well.

"But this study won't analyse any alternative methods of harnessing the power of the Severn, such as tidal lagoons or tidal flow technologies. So if the experts decide a barrage isn't the right answer, we'll be left with no properly costed alternative to take its place. They've set it up as an 'all or nothing' option, rather than taking a properly balanced approach to find the best technology for Britain's future green energy needs. That isn't a responsible approach to dealing with climate change, and could delay any eventual solution for years.

"The other problem is that it looks as though the Government have set it up to fail. The study could fall at the first hurdle. The Government has correctly said that the environmental impact of a barrage on local wildlife must be assessed, and that the barrage mustn't destroy important natural habitats. But just a month ago DEFRA - the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - earmarked the Severn Estuary as a Special Area of Conservation because of its unique and important ecology. If DEFRA thinks the estuary is so special, doesn't that mean the barrage study is doomed before it even gets underway? I'm worried that the Government are only paying lip service to green energy here, and I'm going to write to John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to ask him to explain these contradictions."