Plans for barrage 'holding water'

Agencies from both sides of the Border will meet in Dumfries to see if a project to build a barrage across the Solway might be feasible.

The plans to build a barrage across the Solway from Annan, on the Dumfriesshire side, to Bowness, in Cumbria, were first drawn up in 1966.

Renewable energy demands have prompted calls for the scheme to be revived.

Cumbrian businessman Nigel Catterson will try to persuade councils and enterprise agencies from both sides of the border that it is worth another look.

Mr Catterson said a barrage could generate as much power as about 100 wind turbines.

'Simple project'

He said: "I believe this project can happen. It would not be a complex engineering project to do.

"It would be a straightforward barrage more like a dam. I don't think the time and the date have been right for this in the past.

"Now, there are a raft of concerns about energy. This would be a simple project using simple technology."

One of the obstacles would be overcoming the ecological and environmental issues associated with damming one of the most important estuary habitats in the UK.

The proposal suggests setting up a community interest company to ensure that all profits would be reinvested in local communities.