Somerset residents have until Easter to give views on planned tidal lagoon
Somerset residents invited to have their say on £11bn West Somerset tidal lagoon backed by local MP
Somerset residents have until the Easter holidays to give their initial views on planned for a tidal lagoon on the west Somerset coast.
The West Somerset Lagoon project team intends to build a tidal lagoon between Minehead and Watchet, which would use the tidal flow of the Bristol Channel to generate clean power for 120 years.
Tiverton and Minehead MP Rachel Gilmour has publicly thrown her support behind the project, pushing for a meeting with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer MP and arguing the project closely aligns with the government’s clean energy policies.
A public consultation has now begun on the design of the lagoon and the “legacy” it will bring to the local communities in Somerset – with residents having until early-April to give their initial thoughts.
Mrs Gilmour spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service at her constituency office in Tiverton on Friday (January 16), laying out her support for the project and why it would be transformative for her constituents.
She said: “The Labour government is committed to reaching net zero, though not as quickly as the Liberal Democrats would like it.
“People have looked at wind and they’ve looked at solar power. If there is no wind, you can’t produce wind energy – and in terms of lifespan, they don’t last terribly long.
“In terms of solar, we know that in my constituency at Washford, this poor farmer, Robert Dibble, is having acres of his land take away to put in a solar farm.
“We’ve got to come up with a solution that is reliable and doesn’t impact upon good agricultural land.
“The tide at Minehead is the second fastest tide in the world. It would create energy on the ebb tide and the flow tide, so that’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“The other advantage of doing it between Minehead and just the other side of Watchet is it doesn’t encroach on any of the shipping lanes, so there are no big vessels going up and down – and all the spawning grounds for the fish are up above Hinkley Point C, so this would not impact environmentally at all.”
The Bristol Channel’s tides move significant quantifies of silt in suspension every day – a problem which has blighted Watchet’s existing harbour for many years.
Mrs Gilmour said that building the lagoon would actually reduce the impact on Watchet harbour, stating: “Between the engineers on this project, you have more than 100 years’ experience worldwide.
“The reason that Watchet is so silted is because it’s a very, small enclosure. The bigger the enclosure, the more water coming in, the less silt you will get.
“So actually, the size of this project is deliberately designed to de-silt the area – and that’s not me saying that, that’s the experts.
“I know there’s been a lot of negative commentary, for partly rather petty political reasons, but at the end of the day, you have to believe the experts.”
Watchet and the neighbouring coast has been subject to significant coastal erosion in recent years, resulting in a £3.3m coastal defence scheme at Blue Anchor and the permanent closure of the B3191 Cleeve Hill (something Mrs Gilmour has consistently opposed).
She said: “The tidal lagoon will effectively stop coastal erosion, because you won’t have a tide lapping against the cliffs – you will have a lagoon, which is flat.
“The issues that we’ve had about roads and houses threatening to fall into sea, will go away – and with that lagoon comes the opportunity for recreational facilities.
“More than 80 per cent of the lagoon will be available for recreational facilities, environmental projects, and most excitingly of all, I think – other than the visitor centre, the watchtower and everything else – is the fact that they have designed a 300-berth marina for Minehead.
“We all know that people who own yachts tend not to be short of a quid or two. So in terms of inward investment, you’ve got the increased recreational facilities, you’ve got the shops and restaurants, you’ve got the watchtower, you’ve got the visitor centre, you’ve got the marina.
“You’ve got the walkway which will go around the edge of the lagoon, which I think will become iconic.
“It will just change my bit of west Somerset forever. It’s just such an exciting project, and the fact that it’s been designed by the architect of the London Eye – she’s not going to touch anything that she doesn’t think she can do a really good job with.”
Unlike other major UK infrastructure projects (such as HS2), the funding for the £11bn lagoon is expected to come entirely from private investment, rather than the taxpayer.
Mrs Gilmour said she would continue lobbying the government to include the project in its sustainable energy policies – a commitment which would increase investor confidence in the project and allow it to move forward more rapidly.
She said: “Tidal power at the moment isn’t as popular as solar and wind power, but it jolly well should be.
“The tide never stops, and in terms of energy security, this wouldn’t be vulnerable to cyber attacks.”
The turbines for the project are expected to be constructed in south Wales and delivered to the lagoon site by sea, reducing the pressure on west Somerset’s narrow rural road network.
Some smaller components could also be brought to the site using the West Somerset Railway’s existing line (with the government in ongoing talks with Somerset Council about mainline rail services linking up with the heritage line).
Mrs Gilmour said she had received a commitment back in February 2024 (five months before she was elected) that the project would include funding to re-establish a road link between Watchet and Blue Anchor.
She said: “I first found out about this project in February 2024 and I went out with Professor Chris Binnie, and he showed me around everywhere.
“I specifically said: ‘I need a new road between Watchet and Blue Anchor’ ,and he said: ‘As part of our infrastructure commitment, that is something we will do.
“That is £36m of independent private investment, and that is the only way we are going to get that road rebuilt.
“Somerset Council doesn’t have the money, and transport secretary Heidi Alexander MP has made it clear to me that, because it’s a B-road in west Somerset, it’s not seen as a massive infrastructure project for the government.”
The ongoing construction of Hinkley Point C has had a significant impact on the local housing market, pushing up private rents and making it harder for local families to get on the property ladder.
The council is looking to avoid the same problems with the new £4bn ‘gigafactory’ Agratas is building near Bridgwater, with proposals to deliver a new 500-bed campus on the A38 near Sedgemoor Crematorium.
Mrs Gilmour said that the lagoon’s construction would not have the same level of repercussions, and that she would continue to push the government and the council to deliver more social housing in her constituency.
She said: “The people that come to fit the turbines and the other elements together in Minehead will almost certainly come from a relatively local radius
“In west Somerset, we do have the skills, we do have people that don’t want to have to travel for miles and miles to have a job.
“What I will be doing is working in partnership with the council and housing associations to create social housing.”
In addition to Mrs Gilmour’s support, the project has also received the backing of the Environment Agency (EA), Somerset Council, the Exmoor National Park Authority and the Somerset Wildlife Trust.
Mrs Gilmour said it was “unconscionable” not to support the project, saying it would revitalise the entirety of west Somerset.
She said: “West Somerset is in the bottom ten per cent of deprived areas in the country – in term of social mobility, it’s 324th out of 324.
“This sort of project will lift absolutely everything. It won’t just be the power, and it won’t just be the yachts.
“If this works in west Somerset, it will be able to be rolled out across coastal communities around the whole country. We know that all coastal communities, particularly with a rural backdrop, just like mine, are suffering from these real elements of deprivation – and I think people will find it fascinating.
“As somebody who’s been in public service for 43 years, I want to leave a legacy for west Somerset.
“I want to know that going forward for generations, people in my constituency won’t have the same problems that they have had for the last 23 years.”
To take part in the public consultation on the tidal lagoon project, visit www.westsomersetlagoon.com/public-consultation before Easter Sunday (April 5).
Paper copies of the consultation documents will be made available in all west Somerset libraries (including Minehead, Watchet and Williton) or are available on request from the above website.
A number of public drop-in events will be organised in the coming weeks, with the dates and venues to be announced.
Following the consultation, the West Somerset Lagoon project team will review feedback and publish a summary report, which will inform changes to the designs, environmental measures, and community benefits.
Further consultations will follow on the detailed designs and specific locations in due course.