‘Crazy’ Somerset plan to flood hundreds of acres of farmland

North Somerset Council is set to urge the government to block “crazy” plans to flood hundreds of acres of farmland by Kingston Seymour.

Power company EDF wants to turn a huge swathe of farmland by the village into a salt marsh to make up for fish killed at Hinkley Point C. But councillors are calling for EDF to drop the plan and instead invest in biodiversity in ways the area wants and needs.

Steve Bridger (Yatton, Independent), a local councillor for the village on North Somerset Council, told a full meeting of the council on November 12 that the plan was “ham-fisted.” He said: “Landowners who would be directly impacted by the proposals were sent letters in September, completely out of the blue, with a rather threatening tone talking about compulsory purchase of their land.”

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He added: “The proposals will not just have an impact on agricultural land, livelihoods, and biodiversity but also on a thriving network of other small businesses that have relatively recently been created within the footprint of the proposed saltmarsh.”

Farmers and local businesses have expressed dismay at the plans. Third generation young farmer Sophie Cole, whose entire farm could be affected, said in September : “No amount of money can compensate me for the loss of my livelihood and exciting plans for the future.”

When Somerset’s new nuclear power station was granted planning permission, it was told to install speakers to scare off fish from getting sucked into its cooling systems. But EDF now says this would be “dangerous to install,” and wants to compensate for the 44 tonnes of fish expected to die each year by creating 340 hectares of saltmarsh along the Severn.

Peter Burden (Portishead South, Conservative) told the council chamber: “It is crazy, chairman, to destroy habitat to mitigate for killing fish.”

He tabled a motion, amended by Annemieke Waite (Winford, Green), for the council to urge the government to insist that EDF obey the original planning conditions. Councillors voted to pass the resolution unanimously.

Mr Bridger said: “The salt marsh proposals have been escalated with our MPs and have already been debated in Parliament. But I think certainly I — and councillor Waite and I am sure councillor Burden too — are keen to see this council also write to the minister to convey our feelings.”

He added: “I am of the view, and I think that this is shared by councillor Burden, that EDF should instead be asked to fund all sorts of biodiversity gains in North Somerset that we actually want and need.”

Mr Burden said: “I think we should ask for serious amounts of cash to be put into proper nature conservation and environment improvements in the wider area, not set up a completely new scheme by an organisation that’s interested in making power.”

The salt marsh plan involves not maintaining the sea wall, and building new sea defences further inland which EDF have insisted would be “bulletproof.” Mr Burden said any changes to sea defences should be dealt with in the same way as other shoreline changes.

He warned: “If that sea wall goes, find yourself to the Tickenham Star. Jacqueline’s Bridge Fish Farm will be three feet underwater and Tickenham Church will be an island. So it is a lot more than just wetting Kingston Seymour if we don’t maintain our sea defences.”

The council resolution sees it commit to continue working with the Environment Agency and local communities to develop a strategy to protect residents and the natural habitat, and to write to Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband, as the secretaries of state responsible for local government and energy, to urge them to enforce the original planning conditions on EDF, and not let them swap them for creating salt marshes.

EDF has said previously that the salt marshes provide breeding grounds for fish, as well as food and shelter for other animals, and said the salt marsh could help prevent flooding. A public consultation will be held on any plans before they go ahead. EDF bosses met concerned locals in a public meeting in Kingston Seymour in October.

A salt marsh was first proposed at Pawlett Hams near Bridgwater but, after major local opposition, the plan was dropped and EDF began looking at locations further from the power station to locate salt marshes. Arlingham and — across the river — Rodley in Gloucestershire and Littleton-upon-Severn in South Gloucestershire were all proposed as locations.

David Shopland (Clevedon East, Independent) said the proposals brought to his mind the poem, The Ancient Mariner. Quoting it to the council chamber, he said: “‘Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.’ Is that to be the fate of Kingston Seymour?”

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