The Engineer Q&A: The Severn Barrage

Over the last few weeks, MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee have been hearing evidence for and against building a barrage, so we’re likely to hear some kind of official pronouncement later this year. The government’s official position (based on a 2010 feasibility study) is that there is no strategic case for public investment in a Severn tidal scheme in the intermediate term, so if a barrage were to be built it would likely be a privately funded development.

The debate around such a scheme is a complex one due to the busy shipping lanes that run through the Severn and the potential environmental issues it could create. But given that very few tidal barrages of this size have ever been built anywhere in the world, there are also big questions around what building a Severn barrage would actually involve. Indeed, there’s also the question of whether a barrage is the best way to harness the immense tidal power of the estuary.