The Severn Barrage

We should be devoting our talents and resources to a British project

Instead of hanging our heads in shame at having to ask foreign firms to build our new nuclear power stations, we should be devoting our talents and resources to a British project, namely the Severn Barrage.

Sixty eight years ago we were able to build a harbour on the Normandy coast, using giant concrete boxes towed there under enemy fire and sunk to form a breakwater. Today we could adapt this technique to build the Severn Barrage. Concrete modules could be sunk onto pre-dredged beds and filled with dredged material; they would be tied together with cables and mating faces would have recesses for flexible seals to form a leaktight barrier. Some modules would contain hydraulic turbine generators or sluices while wind turbines could be mounted on some as well. Only a short portion would have to be constructed on site to contain locks for navigation.

This modular approach could avoid the cost and construction time constraints which have delayed a commitment for so long.

Sam Hosegood, Dorset

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