Build a Barrage not a Nuclear Plant

12.00.00am GMT Fri 11th Jan 2008

Following Business Secretary John Hutton's Commons statement giving the go head for a new generation of Nuclear Power stations in the UK, local Lib Dem MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, Graham Watson, whose constituency has a site at Hinkley near Bridgwater, Somerset, which is short listed for further nuclear plants said:

"This region has huge potential sources for generating energy from renewable sources including a Severn Tidal Barrage, which could, if wetlands habitats can be protected, be an even larger investment in infrastructure and jobs.

Whilst I welcome the possible investment and jobs that new nuclear plants may bring to the region, the current Government's review comes after over 10 years of indecision, where earlier emphasis and investment in sustainable energy could have filled the energy gap that these plans now seek to fill.

With climate change a pressing problem, investment in a barrage across the Severn would be part of a more unified approach to power generation under the European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy."

The South West currently is the home to a total of 5 Nuclear Power sites, two at Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in South Gloucestershire, Berkeley in Gloucestershire and the decommissioned station at Winfrith in Dorset.