Inflatable weir for Severn plan

An inflatable weir could be built in Shrewsbury to generate hydroelectric power along the River Severn and combat flooding, it was revealed today.

The Severn Navigation Restoration Trust wants to replace the current weir as part of a wider River Severn scheme that could generate £7.5m worth of electricity and save 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Trust bosses have identified 15 sites - including Shrewsbury - on the Severn to build new weirs or modify existing ones. This would allow them to use "green energy" stored in the water.

The inflatable weir would be built upstream from the existing one in Castlefields, which trust chiefs hope it will eventually replace. It would also help with flood control.

Jeremy Coles, spokesman for the Severn Navigation Restoration Trust, said the scheme would also bring deeper aerated water, benefiting wildlife and fish, as well as water sports and tourism.

He said the trust also hoped to work alongside £1.87million plans to transform the river for tourists including river taxis, trip boats and a promenade, revealed by Graham Galliers back in July.

The trust is hoping to get the scheme in place for the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth in 2009.

Mr Coles said today: "The inflatable weir could help with flooding as it is of variable height and can be completely lowered. If we get the go ahead the existing weir would be demolished. It would be a big project."

The trust is trying to secure funding and hopes to meet with Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council chiefs early in the new year.