Solway Workshop
21st May 2015
Summary of Solway “electric bridge” workshop
On Thursday 21st May a workshop was held at Scottish Enterprise Offices in Dumfries to share the latest thinking on the
Electric Bridge tidal energy scheme. The workshop comprised key stakeholders including investors, regulators, community
groups and other interested parties. This document captures the feedback from the workshop meetings that will be fed into
the prefeasibility study report.
The workshop began with a general introduction to the project and a presentation of the concept design. The attendees then
split into three groups to work through three questions around the location, design and ownership of the project. The
feedback from the three groups was captured in a series of bullet points set out below.
The next step will be to develop the scope of the prefeasibility study and obtain funding for the prefeasibility study.
Location
What do you value about the Solway Estuary…? What could be improved…?
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Tranquillity, remoteness, migrating birds, habitats,
salmon (both the presence and the pursuit of their
capture – this has both recreational and
commercial aspects), cockling, species diversity
(e.g. lampreys, eels), ‘naturalness’ – natural
dynamics of the estuary
The quiet rural setting, small roads and lack of
infrastructure (especially in Cumbria)
Better access to the ecology and habitats,
including better education and learning
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opportunities
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Area needs an economic stimulus - need to better
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realise the economic benefits of tourism, but this
also need to fit into the wider regional economic
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and tourism offering and jigsaw
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Better linkage to heritage sites on both sides of
the estuary – existing links are very major, busy
(e.g. M6, trainlines)
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Better opportunities and improvements for the
community, including lifestyle
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Considered there are no opportunities to enhance the
environment
People walk along from Chapel Cross, bird watchers at
estuary edge – consider continuing routes
Very important environmental site – mudflats, all
designations (RAMSAR, SSSI, SAC etc), wading birds
U/S River Eden Designated (now in an unfavourable
condition)
Border Esk – salmon fisheries, businesses reliant on the
salmon industry
Eel numbers are at an all-time low – what would be the
impact on them specifically?
Trials only looked at one species of fish, would need to
consider all species – not just impact of turbine but
impact of a 40m length of culvert
Has the number of licences that will be required been
considered?
Navigation
o Tourism – boating – recent study that the boating
industry is worth £1m
o Navigation access would be needed at all tidal
ranges
o Coastgauard access
o Annan slipway used by Fire and Rescue
o Carlisle Canoe Club
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Environmental designations are significant across the
Solway.
Visual impact is important and there are some scenic
designations further out on the Solway.
Tourism is increasingly important and has less prominence
as an industry in the area.
There is a mood of being “fed up” with wind farms and that
tidal energy might be a good alternative.
Grid connection Scottish Power is important and
understanding the different requirements on the grid.
The Eastriggs (Defence Infrastructure Operations) site to the
east of Annan is large and a significant opportunity.
The project should be used to strengthen the bonds between
England and Scotland.
Navigation is important as there is a desire to improve
Annan harbour and increasing use of the Estuary.
Flood risk is an important issue and consideration of any
impacts will need consideration.
Changes in sedimentation and the geomorphology of the
estuary will need to be understood and determined.
Relationship with the proposed tidal lagoon at Workington
will need to be understood and how they interact.
Robin Rigg has had impacts and understanding the
cumulative effect of developments in the estuary is
important.
Fishing is an important sector in the Solway, locally in the
estuary and upstream.
Flourishing communities that thrive on a diverse set of
economic streams.
Involvement of children through schools and education is
important.
Sustainable communities are important and the project will
be intergenerational.
Sociological impact of the project is important, raising
levels of pride.
Need to articulate reasons to be involved in the project to
the community.
Design
Causeway, simple bridge or special bridge…?
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A motor vehicle crossing is unlikely to be in
keeping with the wider setting
Strong preference for anything ‘iconic’ NOT to be
‘garish’
How about re-building the previous bridge?
It will be very important to gauge public opinion on
the type of crossing, such as local community
groups. This will help inform the important
question of who will be using the crossing, and then
how will they value it?
Opportunity for it to have symbolic resonance as it
will cross the border, but also keep in mind that the
border doesn’t really ‘exist’ for those in the
immediate border area
There might be some ‘charm’ in not having 100%
access to the crossing (i.e. a causeway)
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Functional, simple
Robust (very exposed)
Wind protection – wave design?
Breakoffs
Viewpoints, glass bottoms – improve access to
environment
Educational use
Way to raise environmental awareness
Could a link be made to Solar and Wind Energy?
Has socio-economic assessment been done of who would
use this?
Talk to Chris Little about the wind turbines at East Rigg.
What consideration has been given to the shifting sands
and how this would affect the causeway, but also the
species, change nature of area
What access would be available for fish migration at
spring tide/neap tide
The gates being up at certain periods of high tide would
affect food availability, particularly for wading birds, this
is a concern
1 mile causeway at a fixed invert level is different to
what there is now (discussed only being -0.15m
difference now but still felt this would have a significant
impact on the mudflats)
Would the entrances block up with the shifting sand and
require maintenance – what would be the impact of this
maintenance?
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People are interested in construction and will be keen
to engage with the project.
Design must be sympathetic to landscape but that
does not mean simple.
The bridge could be a huge tourism attraction if done
well.
Preference for stunning design but not necessarily
iconic.
Needs to be owned by the community in the sense of
pride rather than just commercial benefit.
Bunkhouse at Bowness has been successful in
response to cycling and walking community.
Learning aspects of the design are important and how
we involve children in the project.
Environmental art is a growing area in Dumfries and
Galloway and this could be a showcase.
The bridge could be tactile and playful for people to
enjoy along its length.
Safety is a concern and the bridge needs to respect the
harsh environment of the Solway.
Understanding the energy production through visual
displays on the bridge.
Ownership
What would community ownership mean…?
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Profits not going elsewhere – staying in the local
communities, but need a model to distribute any
wealth. But the question will also need to be asked
– what will the community do with the money? For
example, monies are currently paid out from local
windfarms but the communities are not sure how to
spend or allocate the money.
Need to define what the ‘community’ is – is it
simply defined by geography/proximity? This will
then help to shape the engagement strategy (as well
as the commercial strategy). The local community
are ‘engageable’ – sessions on the recent Annan
Masterplan were well attended, although this
needed strong promoting by the Council
Need to clarify what ownership means – and the
responsibility that comes with it
A community body could own and run the scheme?
It will be important to highlight that, with this type
of scheme, there will be a longer term payback
profile – but it will continue to generate profit long
after the payback is complete
The ageing population demographic of the area is a
concern – there is a lack of jobs (blue and white
collar), particularly with the decommissioning of
Chapelcross. Schemes/opportunities need to be
implemented to stimulate/provide jobs.
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Would need capital investors
Could we access development funding pots
Need to build the Local Supply Chain
Create a Centre of Excellence for supply of the
technology around the world
Hardest part – share of Community Funds, already
starting to fight over it and it isn’t a reality yet, is the
selling point Cheaper Electricity?
Need to sell the Short Term Benefits
o Quicker Connectivity (cycle to work)
o Access
o Better environmental access
Community Pride is key
Need early sight of the details of the Social Enterprise
Fund, how this could be accessed, could they be involved
in setting this up?
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Partnership needs to be balanced between north and
south.
Ownership is important but not everything,
instilling pride is important.
Settling the ownership position before starting is
important to avoid rows later.
Economic benefits possibly more on north side but
needs to be balanced against the capacity of the
south side to cope with economic benefits of
tourism.
Sell the sizzle not the sausage, the bridge may be
more of the sizzle than the energy generation.
Governance and capacity to administer of
commercial benefits is an important issue for local
communities.