Do Severn plans put Essex coast at risk? (From Gazette)

Do Severn plans put Essex coast at risk?

3:50pm Wednesday 25th March 2009

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A PROPOSAL for a wave power barrage across a river on the other side of the country could have major implications for landowners on the north Essex coast.

The Country Land and Business Association is warning that plans for a tidal power generating barrage in the Severn estuary could have a knock-on effect at Walton’s Hamford Water and land next to the River Stour.

Consultation papers on the barrage contain plans for the provision of compensatory land, to replace intertidal habitats – those between the high and low tide marks – lost due to the scheme.

It is thought as much as 100,000 hectares of compensatory land could be outside the immediate area of the Severn.

The association said land close to the estuaries of the Orwell, Stour, and Deben as well as sites close to Harwich and Hamford Water in Walton, could be obtained by compulsory purchase orders if wave power barrages were built locally in the future.

“This could have far-reaching implications for landowners in these areas as any land required would be acquired under compulsory purchase,” said the association’s eastern region director, Nicola Currie.

“There is a long way to go before final decisions are made, and indeed the compensatory habitat may well be in other areas.

“Nonetheless, we are advising any landowners who think they might be affected to ensure they have registered their riparian rights with the Land Registry.”

Riparian rights cover ownership of land alongside rivers and estuaries, including powers over access for boating, swimming, fishing and oyster farms.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has released a shortlist of five tidal power schemes that it would consider for development in the Severn estuary.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds fears a barrage would alter water levels covering intertidal habitats in the estuary.

“We know the Cardiff-Weston barrage would destroy huge areas of estuary marsh and mudflats used by 69,000 birds each winter and block the migration routes of countless fish,” said Martin Harper, head of sustainable development at the RSPB. Previous plans to create intertidal habitats by flooding farm land have been criticised by residents in Tendring.

A scheme to breach a sea wall in Kirby-le-Soken to create a new salt marsh and saline lagoon has been given planning approval.

The controversial plan, from the Environment Agency, will see the sea wall breached on the Walton backwaters at Devereux Farm, off Walton Road, in two places.

The backwaters are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and it is feared the landscape could be lost to rising sea levels.

The Environment Agency hopes to preserve the environment, even though some land will be lost.

Frinton and Walton town councillor Robert Bucke said residents were concerned about the flood risk the project could create.

“I support the concept for the creation of a new habitat, but I haven’t met one person in the village who is in favour of it,” he said.

“There has been no consultation about it with people in the village and if people are asked if they want to expose themselves to a greater flood risk then they are going to say no.”

The plans were recommended for refusal by Frinton and Walton Town Council but were approved by planning officers at Tendring Council in February.

Work is set to start this summer and the sea wall is expected to be breached in August or September.

n The consultation on plans for the Severn Barrage closes on April 23.

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