Latest news with #RiverSevern
BBC News
6 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
River Severn weir now visible due to low water levels
Concerns have been raised about the state of a weir that helps to control water levels on the River Weir was built in 1871 to raise the level of the water through Gloucester docks, so barges from Sharpness could navigate their way to mills in nearby top of the weir has been exposed due to low river levels caused by this summer's long spell of dry weather, and it appears to have partially Canal and River Trust said it is "monitoring the condition of the weir" but added it did not think there was any risk to vessels on the river. Laurence Buckland has farmed the nearby fields for 30 years and said with levels so low "you can see the whole weir now from the bottom side"."Over the last 12 months you could see it deteriorating and in the last few weeks it's gone downhill big time," he Laurence fears boat owners could be impacted if repair work is not carried out soon."Those people who go from Gloucester Docks on narrow boats up to Tewkesbury for their leisure holidays, they wouldn't being able to go if the weir totally collapses. "The more the weir disappears the more the level will drop at Gloucester Docks and up through to Tewkesbury," he said."The concrete is corroding, there's a big hole [one side] and there's another big piece of concrete that's probably going to wash away very shortly as well." In a statement the Canal and River Trust said: "We've been monitoring the condition of the weir on a regular basis over the past couple of years following some recent deterioration of the concrete spillway."It was rebuilt in the 1970s and the new upstream weir crest continues to control water levels as designed."As it stands there's currently no risk to navigation on the River Severn, Gloucester Docks or the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal."We're currently reviewing if any works are required before the winter and will be working with partners and neighbours to ensure the impact of any work is minimised if required."
The Sun
12-07-2025
- The Sun
Tiny English market town is home to one of UK's steepest funicular railways
BRIDGNORTH Cliff Railway is one of the few funicular railways left in the UK. The Shropshire railway has been transporting people from Low Town to High Town since 1892 with a steep gradient of 33 degrees. 5 5 The market town in Shropshire is split into two parts thanks to the River Severn. The Bridgnorth Railway has been giving people an option not to take the 200 steps up to the top of the town for over 100 years. The funicular railway works by cables pulling two counterbalanced carriages up and down a steep slope. The carriages are permanently attached to opposite ends of the cable. Originally water-powered, the system is now electrically operated. The railway operates on two parallel tracks; it's 111 feet high with a 33.5 degree incline and is 201 feet long. It remains a popular attraction and a mode of transport for locals and visitors. One person wrote on Tripadvisor: "Great views from car as you slowly climb the cliff. The car is original and has lovely wood panels. "It's definitely not the only way to get to high town, but it's definitely the most relaxing." Another said: "I have never heard of a cliff rail much less been on one so it was fun and interesting to see how it works. The bonus is it saves walking the hill." Tickets to use the railway cost £2.50 for a return, and single tickets are not available. Children under 6 ride for free. Underrated towns you need to visit 5 5 Bridgnorth has ruins from a castle first built in 1101. Any visitors to the castle will note that it is leaning - which was a result of damage during the English Civil War. The town has a market that's open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The market includes a Charter Market with 23 pitches and also a Sunday Handmade Market where art and vintage items are sold. Bridgnorth is also known for serving very tasty scotch eggs. At The White Lion pub in town, the scotch eggs are known for being enormous with one visitor saying it was the "best ever". As for other funicular railways, the steepest in the UK is in East Hill Cliff Railway in Hastings, East Sussex with a 38 per cent incline. Others around the country include the Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway and the Cairngorm Mountain Railway. Plus, the UK train line that was bizarrely named among top places to visit in world this year - and our experts' favourite places on the route. And the English wine train that goes through the 'Garden of England' with free booze and onboard canapes.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'People living downstream on the Severn should really be on the alert'
I'VE just viewed the BBC television programme Why Cities Flood. The fine city of Worcester on the River Severn was mentioned. Both the Severn and Wye rise in the mountainous area around Pumlumon in Mid Wales. Do your thousands of readers realise there are proposals for up to 1,000 gigantic wind turbines across Wales, averaging a gargantuan 750 feet in height? More: Let's celebrate the class of 2025! More of your Year 11 prom photos More: Forwarded letter's key role for diamond wedding couple More: Group feeling good after grant boost They will be the biggest on land in the world — some will be 820 feet — and have massive concrete bases. They'll be surrounded by miles and miles of gravel tracks and concrete and tarmac roads. Therefore, the huge catchment areas of the Severn and Wye and their large tributaries, such as the Teme, Avon and Vyrnwy, will see non-absorbent concrete and tarmac replacing highly-absorbent peat, forestry, moorland and grassland. If that is not a recipe for dangerous, rapid flash-flooding on a huge scale, I don't know what is. People living downstream on the Severn in places such as Welshpool, Shrewsbury, Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Stourport, Tewkesbury, Worcester and Gloucester should really be on the alert. So should people on the Wye in places like Ross and Hereford. May I suggest that they all write to their newspapers, councillors and MPs plus the Welsh government to protest vehemently against this likely dangerous flash-flooding? These horrendous wind farms need to be stopped altogether. The yo-yo UK wind energy graph for 2024 on proves beyond doubt that intermittent wind energy has no hope at all of powering the UK. So why install these extremely ugly, potentially dangerous giant wind farms? Protest letters galore from England to leading Welsh newspapers, like the Western Mail and South Wales Echo, would also help. L J Jenkins Gwbert, Cardigan
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'UK should not ignore Severn Estuary tidal lagoon recommendations'
The UK should not ignore the potential to generate 2% of its electricity from a tidal lagoon, the author of a commissioned report has Severn Estuary Commission recommended in March that a lagoon scheme would be the best way to harness tidal power from the River Severn and help the UK reach its net zero commission chair, Dr Andrew Garrard, has now said: "If we are going to double our energy generation in 25 years, and it has to be indigenous and it has to be low carbon, how can you possibly ignore a source of energy which is 2% of our needs in one go? It's a slam dunk."The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it is "open to considering well-developed proposals". The recommendations mark a change from previous reviews that have suggested larger barrage infrastructure should be built across the Severn, but that without formal government support, failed to attract funding. Lagoon v Barrage Tidal lagoons are typically loop shaped enclosures which collect water during high tide and release it through turbines to generate are seen as having a lower environmental impact compared with dam-like barrages, which work on the same principal, but span the full width of a river, estuary or to seven previous studies have recommended a barrage structure for the Severn Estuary, all of which have failed to advance due to environmental, political and financial Garrard hopes the commission's re-think on how to harness energy created by the Severn might have more success."A barrage would be very disruptive to both the Welsh and the English ports, so that's a major commercial consideration," he added."It also adds a huge environmental impact, the environment on the Severn is of global significance, so it desperately needs to be protected."We really need to build something now and stop having further studies and discussion." The Severn Estuary is one of the largest in Europe and is one of its most important wildlife habitats, according to the saltmarshes and mudflats are used by an average 74,000 birds each winter while its waters support more than 100 fish species and vast numbers of invertebrates. Following the publication of the report the RSPB welcomed the commission's rejection of a barrage, which it called "environmentally unacceptable".However it warned "tidal lagoons also present significant risks to nature that have not been overcome so far and must not be ignored".RSPB Cymru head of nature policy and casework Annie Smith added that while they supported a "rapid transition to renewable energy... this must be achieved in ways that do not further jeopardise our declining wildlife".Former Labour Welsh secretary Lord Peter Hain was also concerned about the proposals, calling them a very expensive "cop out" in March."Lagoons do harness tidal power but... they are very expensive and are a cop out which won't harness the ginormous but untapped natural power of the Severn Estuary," he told BBC Wales at the time. The River Severn has the second highest tidal range in the world, which reaches 15 metres during spring tides.A tidal lagoon would cost about £10bn, most of which would have to come from private investment, and could generate at least 2% of the UK's electricity needs each is estimated it would take up to a decade to become operational, but would last up to 120 years."Two per cent might sound like a small number, but it's actually a huge amount of energy," Dr Garrard added."So two of those lagoons would be the same as Hinkley Point C [a nuclear power station] just down the coast."A lagoon would have at least a 120-year life, [in comparison] a typical power station has 30, and offshore wind farm has 30, Hinkley probably has 60."The Severn Estuary Commission's report did not look in to specific scheme options or locations, but it is understood the banks of the estuary in Somerset would be a viable place. Ambition and funding The UK has so far failed to bring forward any large-scale tidal lagoons, but it is hoped a privately backed Swansea Bay project will be developed in the coming the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is pushing ahead with a tidal barrage across the River of the Mersey Tidal Project began in earnest in 2015 and it could be operational by the end of the next Shaun Benzon, head of project development, said the barrage has been able to progress due to strong local political will."We've had an ambition as a combined authority which has been strongly supported by our Mayor, Steve Rotheram," he added."By having a key champion behind the project, and also having the ability to fund the development of the project to this phase through our devolved funding we've been able to act ahead of the others." The UK Marine Energy Council estimate the wave and tidal industries will be worth £50bn to the UK economy by a statement, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it is on a "clean power mission" to "get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets" while "protecting business and household finances with clean, homegrown energy that we control"."We are open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the power of our bays, estuaries and coastlines, which demonstrate value for money", the spokesperson added.
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
At last, a victory for rivers over megafarms: now councils can't treat toxic waste as someone else's problem
The recent ecological collapse of the River Wye due to pollution from intensive agriculture has been well documented. But the slow-motion repetition of this ecocide on the neighbouring River Severn has largely unfolded out of sight. For years, local authorities have been waving through industrial-scale livestock production units across the catchment of this iconic river. These toxic megafarms produce vast quantities of animal waste, which is spread on local land with minimal consideration for the cumulative environmental destruction it can cause. This week, the high court called time on this practice. In a landmark ruling, the court quashed Shropshire council's planning permission for a 230,000-bird intensive poultry unit near two protected wetland sites and a mile from the banks of the Severn. The court found the council had unlawfully failed to assess the cumulative impact of adding yet another waste-spewing chicken megafarm to an already bloated cluster of intensive poultry units (IPUs). Digestate, the byproduct of these plants, is often spread excessively on farmland. It can be highly toxic and rich in nitrates and phosphates, the very substance fuelling ecological collapse in rivers such as the Wye and Severn. The court found this risk was not incidental but a foreseeable impact that should have been evaluated under the law. This judgment sets a critical precedent. Local planning authorities can no longer ignore the full environmental footprint of these developments. They cannot assume waste vanishes once it leaves the farm gate. Most significantly, they cannot continue treating each factory farm unit as isolated when together they create a systemic environmental crisis. In Shropshire, more than 28m chickens are crammed into an escalating number of industrial sheds. The proposed site was just 400 metres from another unit housing nearly half a million birds. Satellite images show many others blanketing the surrounding landscape. This slow death by poultry units has been made possible by a negligent planning system. It also exposes a gaping hole in how environmental waste is regulated. Digestate is not benign. The dense concentrations of nitrates and phosphates it carries fuel catastrophic algal blooms. Yet councils have routinely treated it as someone else's problem. The court was clear: those days are over. It also struck down Shropshire's vague, unenforceable planning conditions, which tried to shift responsibility for manure disposal to third parties without oversight or accountability. This legal sleight of hand no longer holds. Local authorities now must know, and can enforce, exactly what happens to the waste. 'Somewhere else' is no longer a defence. The ruling lands at a crucial political moment. The Labour government has made clear its intent to loosen planning restrictions in the name of growth. But environmental protections are not bureaucratic burdens. They are the last line of defence against irreversible harm. This case reaffirms that environmental law has teeth and must be upheld even as politics shifts towards deregulation. So what happens now? Shropshire council has confirmed it will not appeal. The developer may resubmit a new application, but any future proposal must address the court's findings: a lawful environmental impact assessment and a rigorous, science-based assessment of cumulative harm under the habitats regulations. More broadly, this judgment should send shockwaves through the planning system. Councils will have to stop rubber-stamping similar poultry applications and should review their processes. Developers will face greater scrutiny. And communities fighting to defend their rivers now have powerful new legal tools at their disposal. Of course, there will be resistance. The big agri lobby will whine about red tape. But what it calls red tape is simply the law – which is put in place to protect public and environmental health, not industrial convenience. If you want to dump another 200,000 chickens into a river catchment already choking on phosphates, the burden is now on you to prove you won't make things any worse. Having instigated and funded this landmark legal action, River Action will now go into overdrive to ensure this case law is embedded across the UK's planning system. We'll also support other courageous local campaigners – like our advisory board member Dr Alison Caffyn, who personally led the Shropshire claim. Backed by our legal team, we're fully armed for the fight against industrial factory farming. Had this ruling come a decade earlier, the River Wye's collapse might have been prevented. Now there's real hope for other iconic rivers. Charles Watson is chair and founder of River Action
