"In the case of the Gwent Levels these communities have been defending themselves against the sea for two thousand years and it is very difficult to tell them that this no longer the policy," he said. "They have a reasonable expectation and assurance of a future long term commitment to sustaining these structures."

Rosemary Butler said:

"I agree that this is a huge problem and I was interested to see comments by the drainage board that not enough attention had been paid to the possible effects of a Tidal Power Generation Scheme in the Severn Estuary.

"I still hold the view that a decision in favour of a substantial Severn Barrage between Lavernock Point and Brean Down would be the best outcome and would solve a number of problems. It would help us to generate a huge amount of carbon free energy, it would lead to a tourism boost, create thousands of construction jobs, provide new transport links and above all solve the potential flooding problem.

"Currently we are having to spend large sums on localised flood prevention schemes, and if the Auditor General's comments are anything to go by these projects would eventually grind to a halt and people would have to move out of areas which have been inhabited for centuries. All this could be solved by a "once and for all" barrage at the mouth of the estuary.

"There has been much debate about the £15bn cost of the Severn Barrage, but in the long run I suspect that the damage caused by rising sea levels in the absence of a barrage would be far in excess of that cost ."

Thursday, January 28 2010