Wildlife threatened by barrage

10 March 2010

PLANS for the 'old-fashioned' Severn Estuary barrage will have devastating affects on wildlife according to animal experts.

The Avon Wildlife Trust has launched a special report, 'Energy at any Price?' which details the future of the estuary and the consequences it may have.

The trust says the Government should commit to investigating a range of modern, low-impact technologies and the decision should be taken on the basis of causing the least environmental damage and being most cost-effective.

The trust's director of conservation programmes, Lucy Rogers, said: "We want to ensure the chosen option will not be something society regrets in decades to come.

"It is no exaggeration to say the Severn Estuary is an irreplaceable part of the UK's natural heritage."

The trust, which is supported by more than 17,500 members, says there is 69,000 visiting birds which shelter from the Arctic winter or refuel during migration and that there is more than 100 species of fish found in the estuary.

These include 10 species of commercial fish such as herring, cod, plaice, sole, and horse mackerel.

Ms Rogers said that altering the Severn's intertidal habitat is too risky and that the 'out-dated technology' is not appropriate.

To view the full report log onto www.westonmercury.co.uk