A SEVERN barrage is likely to increase the risk of flooding in a region already recently badly affected by the problem, say campaigners.
Stop the Barrage NOW coalition said it had based the warning on a detailed scientific studies.
It claimed these found estuary barriers created considerably greater risks of flooding and silting than were thought likely when the barrage was first evaluated in the 1980s.
With some three million people living around the Severn estuary, and sea levels predicted to rise due to global warming, flood risk is already a major concern across the region.
The flooding and silting issue was examined in a paper presented to a Renewable Energy Association symposium in Cardiff by Roger Morris, senior specialist (Ports & Estuaries) from Natural England.
A multi-million pound tidal feasibility study was commission by the government to look into a long list of options for generating tidal power from the Severn Estuary.
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