RPSB call for 'feasibility study' into Tidal barrier plans for The Wash
Centre Port unveiled plans for the first project of its kind late last week
The RSPB is calling on the developers of a planned tidal barrier across the Wash to complete a feasibility study into the project
It's after Centre Port unveiled plans for the first project of its kind to be put in place along the bay.
The scheme is thought to cost around £2 billion and includes plans for a new road and flood defences between Norfolk and Lincolnshire. In addition to the deep-sea container terminal, itself.
"The Wash is the UK's most important estuary for Wild-birds"
Steve Rowland is the charity's area manager for Norfolk.
"What I would like to see is that they do a proper feasibility study, to which they will need to add at least a zero to their estimated cost, that looks at all of these impacts and how they can be mitigated. I think it will show that these cannot be mitigated. This is the wrong solution; we absolutely need to look at our coastline and how we adapt to the impacts of climate change. This is not the way to do it."
He told us why this scheme must be stopped:
"The Wash is the UK's most important estuary for Wild-birds. There's up to 400 thousand birds at one time in the winter. They rely on the mudflats and saltmarshes, the same that provide a sea defence, draw down carbon and provide a nursey for fish-stocks. A barrage for the port would destroy those habitats and alter the flow of water around The Wash."
"The Wash should be an exemplar of how we manage our landscape"
Mr Rowland told us there's a clear alternative:
"If this is going to progress as a planning application, then the developer is suggesting this is going to cost £2 billion. Ten years ago, the Severn Barrage, which didn't happen on economic grounds, was costed at £34 billion. The developers say they can do a feasibility study for £5 million. That isn't going to happen, they are going to need to spend a lot more money."
"There's a plan there already, it's called 'The Wash shoreline management plan' which looks 100 years ahead. The Wash should be an exemplar of how we manage our landscape in the face of climate change, for wildlife and for people. Recently, the RSPB and others came together and produced a report which showed that The Wash as part of our east-coast wetlands would qualify as a Natural World Heritage Site under the UNESCO criteria."
What do developers say?
Centre Port Holdings claim the project will help to power over half a million homes and create a thousand jobs.
The renewable energy infrastructure developer says this scheme could protect the area from future tidal surges and the effects of climate change.