Severn barrage support

Does he hope that ministers responsible for the future of power generation and energy/environment conservation will pick up a copy of BSj on their way to work? CIBSE does a lot of good work, but our professional Institutions should be much more active in this sort of policy-influencing discussion and persuasion.

The idea of the Severn Barrage was around long before the construction of the second Severn road bridge – in fact, it was mooted that a road could have been included on top of the barrage. As with so many other grand ideas in this country, nobody had the courage to fight for this option when it was up against the cheaper and more pressing single functional requirement – so the second road crossing was built simply as a bridge. It was very expensive for a single function solution and, while it is a great success, its construction and maintenance only consumes energy. A combination barrage and crossing, on the other hand, would have been a relative bargain in construction, and in the years since its completion would have been repaying the planet in terms of energy.

However, it is never too late to start a grand energy-generation scheme such as this – and as a single-function barrage, it would not only be cheaper than a dual-purpose construction, but its design need include no compromises.

IHow will CIBSE respond with regard to leading the civil, mechanical and electrical engineering institutions in promoting a new attempt to get the barrage built? Remember, it took Margaret Thatcher to push forward the Channel Tunnel (no replies with unflattering remarks about the latter, please.)

The Severn Barrage could not fail to sustain itself eventually, repaying the planet for the resources it consumes in construction.