Speakers from a number of organisations addressed the public meeting about the Preston Vision Board's idea to build a barrage across the River Ribble. None of them thought the barrage should be built. This echoed the sentiments of over 70 people in the packed room.
Cllr John Swindells (ex-Cabinet Member for the Environment) held up the Cardiff Bay Barrage as an example. It had damaged the environment. The mudflats had been covered over and the birds had ignored the new mudflats created for them. Money was constantly needed to alleviate flood risks and to deal with the plagues of mosquitoes, which had not been anticipated when the barrage was proposed. The original estimate for the project was £40M but in reality it had cost £400M. Councillor Swindells assured the meeting that he would not support the barrage under any scheme.
Leader of the Council Ken Hudson took the opposite view. He told everyone that the barrage and development of the river was first proposed to generate money to overcome the problems in Preston Dock; namely the silt, blue-green algae, the need for new lock gates and swing-bridge renovations. He went on to say that the Public had been listened to and now Riverworks was broken into 3 separate projects and that the barrage idea was now ‘out of the window’.
Later, this was questioned by Cllr Jack Davenport who said that there had been no official statement from the city council or Preston's Vision Board to that effect. He went on to say that Riverworks had always been broken into sections and although the barrage proposal had been moved down the priorities, to make no mistake that it was still definitely on the agenda. Cllr Davenport also suggested that the barrage idea was a matter of scrutiny versus speculation. He commented that speculation had resulted from a lack of open opportunities to scrutinise the ideas.
Cllr Bhikhu Patel chaired the meeting very professionally and many attendees were able to voice their concerns. One gentleman raised the point that if a barrage was built against the advice of the Environment Agency and floods resulted, the council might be held liable for private prosecutions. There was a call for the barrage not to be at the bottom of the shopping list but that it should be taken off altogether.
Cllr Patel saying that it appeared most people were against building a barrage asked the room whether they thought a feasibility study (predicted to cost £240,000) into the proposal should be conducted. He also asked whether those present wanted housing in South Ribble, near to the river. The public answer to both questions was a resounding NO!
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