Barrage could destroy estuarry
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says a storm surge barrier built on the Oosterschelde estuary in the 1980s has put property, wildlife and industry at risk.
The campaign group is now urging the Government to end its "fixation" with barrage-like structures on the Severn, whose huge tidal range boasts enough power to generate 5 per cent of the UK's energy needs.
The RSPB says the British Government has for two years been aware of a report penned by two Dutch government engineers detailing the effects of a barrier across the Oosterschelde estuary.
"This report makes grim reading," said Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's director of conservation. "It is the closest we can get to proof that a barrage across the Severn will devastate the estuary.
"Although smaller, the Oosterschelde is very similar to the Severn estuary in many ways and it is being damaged beyond repair, something our Government appears to have known since 2008."
More than a year ago, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) shortlisted five possible schemes for what could be the world's biggest green energy project.
Three of the schemes are barrages, including a 10-mile structure across the entire estuary from Cardiff to Weston-super-Mare.
The DECC is still assessing the feasibility of "unproven" technology and has committed £500,000 to develop three "embryonic" energy-generating ideas.
While the RSPB and other wildlife charities have long been critical of barrages, the charity has now translated the Dutch report into English and made it publicly available.
The report's authors – Erik van Zanten and Leo Adriaanse, who both work for the Dutch government agency in charge of public works – are giving briefings in the South West today.
The RSPB argues the Oosterschelde structure is one of the best available comparisons to a barrage on the Severn.
It says they both involve a large, partially permeable wall built across a sediment-loaded estuary with similar tidal patterns.
The Dutch report detailed the flood risk as well as the devastating impacts for wildlife, fishing, tourism and shipping from the building of the two-mile dam.
It was built as a response to the North Sea flood of 1953 which killed more than 1,800 people in the Netherlands.
The report says loss of mudflats have led to higher waves and water levels, which in turn will mean huge sums of money will have to be spent on strengthening coastal defences to protect lives and property.
The Oosterschelde's intertidal habitat, vital for shellfish and birds, is also under threat, says the report. By 2050, tidal flats will have more than halved and salt marshes will disappear from all but the most sheltered locations.
It adds that shipping will be hit by shallower and harder-to-navigate channels, shellfisheries damaged because of loss of habitat for the cockles and mussels and tourism will suffer because of the loss of wildlife.
Dr Avery said: "The Dutch built their barrier to prevent deadly storms from claiming lives.
"Ironically, it has now led to an increased risk of flooding behind the barrier, but it could be argued they had little choice at the time. On the Severn, we do have a choice.
"A barrage would not be built to stop storm surges but to harness the tides and generate electricity.
"There are other, far less environmentally damaging ways to do that, yet Government studies to date have been fixated on barrages."
Designs for a tidal "reef" and a tidal "fence", which allow fish and ships to pass through more comfortably, are both considered more favourably by environmental groups.
Dr Avery added: "We know the Government has produced their own report on how a barrage would affect the tides and sediments of the Severn.
"The big questions now are what does that report say and why can't we see it?"
A spokesman for DECC said it was aware of the Dutch report and was weighing up its conclusions along with a number of other projects, such as the tidal power station at La Rance in France.
It had yet to decide whether it would back a tidal scheme in any case, let alone its preferred option, and the spokesman indicated it was unlikely to report back for "months" rather than weeks.
He said: "We are looking at this (Oosterschelde). We are looking at the parallels between that and any power generation project in the Severn estuary.
"A barrage is just one option. There are lots of options we are looking at."
Ian Liddell-Grainger, Conservative MP for Bridgwater, whose constituency would be feel the impact of a number of the projects on the table, was dismissive of the Netherlands comparison, chiefly because of the differences in scale and geography.
He said that by law, the environmental impact of any chosen project had to be taken into consideration and the Government was already examining alternatives.
He added: "Birds are just one aspect. There are 1,001 things to take into consideration. Shipping, even pylons. You have to look at it all, not just one in isolation."
