Public meeting in Hunstanton hears concerns over plans for tidal barrier across The Wash
There are plans for a hydroelectric dam and offshore container port stretching from near Hunstanton on the Norfolk side of the estuary to near Skegness in Lincolnshire.
It is one of the most controversial projects to have been proposed for the county in decades and could radically change one of the most important wetland habitats in the world.
And judging by the public response at a packed Hunstanton’s Princess Theatre, it is going to face tough challenge to win over locals.
Centre Port CEO John Sutcliffe appeared before a rowdy crowd at a public meeting to discuss the creation of a tidal barrage across the Wash.
The company wants to build a hydroelectric dam and offshore container port stretching from near Hunstanton on the Norfolk side of the estuary to near Skegness in Lincolnshire.
Mr Sutcliffe waited until towards the end of the meeting to provide more details of the project – much to everyone’s frustrations – leaving his critics to speak about a scheme they were yet to know specific details about.
The £3bn project – which will take more than a decade to come to fruition if given the go-ahead – was presented as a vital future sea defence that would also create a reliable source of renewable energy.
It was likened to a “colander” which would allow the huge tidal flow to go in and out, through about 40 turbines, producing power for 600,000 homes and businesses in the region.
It would also be able to hold back the flow of water as a flood prevention measure.
“We do not have the luxury of time” said Mr Sutcliffe, who claimed the scheme was necessary to protect the communities around the Wash against rising sea levels and storm surges.
He believes it could make the east into an economic “powerhouse” through creating what would be the first of its kind in the world, boosting the shipping and energy industry.
The offshore container port would be located on the Lincolnshire side, due to Norfolk’s roads being “unsuitable” for the volume of freight traffic it would produce.
Investors from the United States and the Middle East have already shown interest in the project, according to the CEO.
In an attempt to sweeten the deal, Mr Sutcliffe promised the people of Hunstanton a new four-mile-long beach where people “can see the sunset go down” and that it would have minimal visual impact.
But this did not go down well with the audience, who cheered when one person said: “We don’t want it here.”
It was a tense and fractious event with high tempers leading to frequent outbursts which Hunstanton mayor Mike Ruston and councillor Robert Corby tried to control.
There are huge reservations from environmentalists and local organisations about the project who fear it would have disastrous consequences for the environment and the fishing industry.
Mike Jones of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust warned the “irreplaceable and fragile” habitat of the Wash would be “permanently degraded”, pointing to the effect other tidal barrages have had on wildlife.
Andy Bullen of the King’s Lynn Conservancy Board and Judith Stoutt of the Eastern Inshore Fisheries Authority were also among those critical of the scheme.
“I don’t think it can successfully be built, so where is this whole project going?” asked Mr Bullen.
West Norfolk Council leader Terry Parish raised several concerns about the project, including the impact on wildlife and the fishing industry but said the authority has no position until detailed plans are put forward.
“We need to know the consequences before we consider our actions,” he said.
Mr Sutcliffe said a full feasibility and impact assessment would be carried out and that if it was deemed to likely cause adverse harm to the Wash’s wildlife it would not go ahead.
Lincolnshire farmer Stafford Proctor gave his support to the idea, arguing it would secure the future of agriculture in the Fens – an industry that is under great threat due to rising sea levels and the increasing damage caused by floods.