Could the Severn Barrage be sunk by the recession?

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7th April 2009

With Government debt rising during the current recession can they afford the huge cost of building the barrage across a ten mile width of the Bristol Channel? Current estimate for a barrage of this size is £22.2bn when other options could be costing as little as £6bn. The national debt is already a staggering £750bn which equates to 52% of Britain’s gross domestic product. This figure is likely to rise to a massive £1,650bn by the end of 2010!

If the go ahead was given to construct the barrage it would take between six to eight years to build. Imagine the amount of concrete required to build it? Six to eight years of helping to destroy any environmental benefits that a barrage would produce.........

About every ten years since man has been producing electricity the idea of a barrage across either the Severn Estuary or Bristol Channel has raised its ugly head. Always the mention of the huge cost has scuppered it. It looks as though history is going to repeat itself again.