MPs Speak Out Against The Severn Barrage

If there is ever going to be a barrage built across the estuary of the River Severn, the path to success is turning out to be a very rocky one.

Two steps forward one step back, is danger of being reversed, particularly now that a committee of MPs  has said that Hafren Power, the firm behind the scheme, had failed to make a case that it would be good for the economy or the environment.

The House of Commons' Energy and Climate Change Committee, in a report, has criticised a "lack of information and a perceived lack of transparency" about the proposal, saying the case for the barrage remained unproven, and that Hafren had “yet to provide robust and independently verified evidence of the economic, environmental and technological viability of the project".

The committee had been alerted to the potential of job losses in nearby ports, and also concluded that the scheme is no "knight in shining armour" to meet renewable energy targets. They said that the UK government should continue to have an open view about considering a project in the Severn but "far more detail and evidence" would be required to make an informed decision about Hafren Power's proposal.

The company had also failed to overcome the concerns of conservation groups about wildlife and the local environment.

Committee chairman Tim Yeo said: "We think the effects on wildlife could be very damaging.  There is a lot of evidence to suggest that these impacts will be very, very hard to alleviate. The report does acknowledge that there is the potential to generate energy here. Indeed, we suggest that it might be worth exploring a smaller scheme initially where the impact would be less dramatic."

Hafren Power chief executive Tony Prior said: "The report is unhelpful and frustrating - we all know we have a lot more work to do and we will do it.

"The government has already told us it is not against the barrage and we are determined to press ministers and officials to engage fully. We have a team of experts, consultants and engineers... to discuss how we can provide the correct mitigation for the impact the barrier will have."

Flights Could Return To Skye Next Year

In what is being called an enormous economic boost, commercial flights to and from the Isle of Skye could be started as early as next year. It is some twenty five years since the last flights ceased when Loganair flew out of the island's Highland Council-owned Ashaig Airfield, near Broadford.

The likelihood of resuming flights has been closely investigated by the local council, the transport body Hitrans, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Having described the possibility of the resumption as being an “enormous” economic boost, businessman Ian Blackford, a member of FlySkye, went on to say, “I think for tourism, for business, for leisure, and for the people who live here, we really need to be able to connect to the central belt and beyond.

"That is something that is very difficult to do today if you live on Skye. To get to Glasgow by car it takes you in excess of five hours."

The length and width of the runway appeared to be a key to the matter, as resuming commercial flights would only need investment of between £2.3m and £2.8m if current circumstances met with the Civil Aviation Authority's approval. Higher figures of up to £15.3m had been mentioned otherwise, according to a feasibility study published in March.

Ancillary works needed agreement with the Department for Transport on Capital expenditure matters, such as security fencing, airline operators on hangars and the fire service on what facilities it would require.

Other agreements would also have to be reached about matters such as the airstrip meeting certain standards on runways, such as length and width as well as requirements on runway end safety areas.

The Skye Air Services Feasibility Study that was published in March had looked at what would be needed before scheduled services could resume.

                                                                http://www.skye.co.uk/

The Fascinating History Of The Copper Kingdom

Now it is no more than a sleepy town on the north Anglesey coast, but in the mid 18th century Amlwch, coupled with its coastal outlet, Poth Amlwch was at the very centre of the world’s copper mining trade, with vast deposits of copper ore having been discovered at Mynydd Parys.

Resulting in an entire re-shaping of the local landscape, in their heyday the Parys mines were among the wonders of the world – visited by men like Michael Faraday and James Watt, the most prominent scientists and engineers of the day.

Such was the importance of the port, that in 1793, it was enlarged and regulated by way of an Act of Parliament. The leap from a “small cove between two steep rocks” into the world’s major exporter of copper was complete.

Inspired times bring forth inspired people, and such a man was Anglesey-born lawyer Thomas Williams, and under his guidance, novel uses of copper were introduced including sheathing for the hulls of wooden warships. Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory was a recipient of this, providing extra speed and manoeuverability crucial to success at Trafalgar.

With the raw materials on site, Amlwch even minted its own copper coins.

Fortunately, when the copper mining industry waned as quickly as it had risen, men of vision came to fill the gap, and the port at Amlwch developed its own thriving ship-building industry, launching vessels famous for their fine appearance and speed.

As a result of this vibrant past, there is much for you to explore today. The abandoned mine workings at Mynydd Parys remind many people of a moonlike landscape, and film makers obviously think the same as it is a regular film set. The rock formations are visually stunning with red, yellow and purple coloured rocks. Your holiday experience is maximised by heritage trails in the mountain area, allowing you to discover for yourself the vast man-made opencast pits and ruined mine-buildings. Truly an unforgettable experience!

Take in also the quiet majesty of the old port at Porth Amlwch. Close your eyes and visualise how things must have been when the copper and ship building trades were at their peak. There are original buildings to explore, now standing idle. See the Copper Bins, the Watch House and the Workshop Chimneys.

At the Sail Loft Visitor Centre, enjoy a delicious snack or browse the gift shop but don’t miss the exhibition of Amlwch’s world renowned ship-building heritage.

                                                            http://www.amlwch.org/

                                          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parys_Mountain

Monty Don Tells Us Where To Find The Finest Roses

When Monty Don, famed for his appearances on the BBC’s Gardeners World tells us where to find the best rose displays in the country, then we had better listen.  Having seen most of the exotic plants that the world can offer, he still holds that the traditional rose is his favourite of them all.

We have sat gloomily through the darkest and coldest autumns and winters for many years, and now we need to get out and enjoy the summer days that seemed only a hazy dream a few months ago.

By careful nurturing and pruning, the rose season can be stretched out for most of the warm summer months, but time moves so quickly and it will not be long before the first smells and cold snaps of autumn will be playing around our doors again.

So where should we go to see the best displays, apart from the many beautiful parks around the country. Well Monty has named his top five venues, which are set out below.

And when Monty talks, we had better listen!

To enjoy roses at their most perfect, here are some of the finest gardens to visit this month . . .

Sissinghurst Castle, Cranbrook, Kent
Vita Sackville-West’s garden has a superb collection of ‘Old’ or shrub roses, many planted more than 60 years ago, forming one of the country’s most romantic rose gardens.

Mottisfont Abbey, Romsey, Hampshire
The roses in this National Trust garden were collected by the great rosarian Graham Stuart Thomas, who died ten years ago, and the walled garden was planted in 1972.
To see it in its late-June splendour remains one of the great gardening experiences.

Coughton Court, Alcester, Warwickshire
In 2006, the Rose Labyrinth, which features more than  200 types of rose, was given the Award of Garden Excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies — the first time any UK garden had received this accolade.

Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
The gardens of this spectacular mansion include a modern rose garden within the 18th-century walled garden, with a wide collection of old and modern roses.

Gardens of The Rose, St Albans, Hampshire
This is the home of the National Rose Society and is dedicated solely to the cultivation and celebration of roses of every kind.
It is open from this Saturday, June 8,  to July 28, though members may visit throughout the year.


                                                                   http://www.rnrs.org/

Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Status Is An Expensive Business

Heritage comes in many forms, and it may be understandable, yet a little surprising to find that the Ironbridge Gorge falls into the same category as the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids. Yet in these financially conscious times, everything has to pay its way, and the fiscal spotlight has been shone in some very strange places over recent years.

It has never been a priority that sites with UNESCO Heritage status should have to “pay their way”, as they were preserved for the benefit of the nation, but figures suggest that although the actual Abraham Darby III iron bridge is still in fine fettle, the same cannot be said for the surrounding Ironbridge Gorge, which has a fragile landscape, having suffered from  landslides, floods and even collapsed houses and roads.

Engineers are saying that to protect the gorge even for the immediate future could cost more than £80m, which brings into question as to whether it is worth doing. Telford and Wrekin Council said it had a commitment to protect the area, while Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust said it was important to remember it was not simply "a theme park", but "people's homes".

"You can assess the likelihood [of a landslide], depending on rainfall and other triggers, but you can never say 'We're going to expect one tomorrow, or in a week or in a year'," Neal Rushton, from the local authority, said. It is his team who are responsible for monitoring, countering and repairing ground movement falls

"We've got 300 years of records, but landslides have been happening in the gorge for 10,000 years, so it feels like we're still doing a bit of crystal ball gazing," he said.

Because of the volatility of ground and weather conditions, the local authority also has to prepare for a major emergency, even though it said gradual ground movements were far more likely. There are evacuation centres and warning pamphlets, although the authority said "major events" in the gorge typically happened every 30 to 50 years, with the most recent occurring in the 1980s, when houses collapsed in Jackfield and Salthouse Road and fell into the river.

Next year’s stabilisation works will remove the “temporary” wooden road set up at that time, and will include metal piles being driven into the ground to anchor it in place. The banks of the River Severn will be reinforced to prevent erosion. By the time the latest work is completed in three years time, some £33m will have been spent on shoring up the gorge since 2001.

According to former chairman of English Heritage Sir Neil Cossons, far more will be needed in the coming years. One of the team who put together the original bid for UNESCO, Sir Neil said the site "absolutely deserved" to be protected, not just for Telford, but the nation as a whole. “The very activity that earned Ironbridge its place among the world's most important heritage sites has, however, also contributed to its problems.” Mr Rushton confirmed this, saying that his teams regularly came across old mine workings.

Senior curator of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Matt Thompson, said there was practically "guerrilla mining" in the gorge during the 18th Century. "Two or three blokes would work a seam on some land they had permission on. They'd dig a hole and work it for as long as they could," he said.

The mines grew up around the blast furnaces and iron casting sites that set Britain on the road to becoming the world's first industrial power.

So it can be seen that if the Gorge was a business, it would be close to bankruptcy now. As a comparison Stonehenge costs about £2.4m a year to run, but brings in £6m in revenue.
Ironbridge Gorge is an icon of Britain’s Industrial history. The area's claim as the birthplace of the industrial revolution is largely based on Abraham Darby I's pioneering use of coke, rather than charcoal, to smelt iron in 1709.

Ironbridge is named after Abraham Darby III’s bridge, the world’s first iron structure, built in 1779, and became an immediate hit with 18th Century tourists. The world's first steam locomotive was built in the area in 1803.

                                                              http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/

St. Asaph Cathedral Looking For Funding After Expansion Plans Agreed

As a pointer to the future perhaps, St. Asaph Cathedral has received permission from Denbighshire planners for a £300,000 extension to make the historic building available for wider community use. Now the search for funding is on, with £30,000 having been raised so far for works that will include additional space, including toilets.

Excavations will go ahead before any works as it is thought two bishops could be buried nearby, and as the site dates from AD560, there could be more of interest to find.

The actual building dates from the 13th Century when the cathedral was rebuilt after being destroyed by Edward I, whilst it suffered further indignities at the hands of the troops of Owain Glyndwr, before being restored in the latter half of the 15th Century.

Some more works were carried out in the nineteenth century, while another extension which was completed in the 1960s is likely to be affected when work starts on the latest plans, probably next year.

The Dean of St Asaph the Reverend Nigel Williams said the extension would make the building more accommodating for wider community use. At the moment the cathedral is used for community events such as ceremonies for the nearby Glan Clwyd Welsh medium school as well as concerts.
Mr Williams said that the area around the south transept was "untidy" and in need of improvement.

He hoped work could start next year and be completed by 2015.

English Channel Weather Delaying Salvage Of German Bomber

The English Channel has on many occasions been a last line of defence when it comes to repelling unwanted invaders, and it is proving an obstacle again, although in a slightly different way. Poor weather in the area has been delaying the lifting of the only surviving World War II Dornier 17 bomber in a high profile salvage operation.

Original plans have been cast aside in favour of a a faster but riskier approach which has been compared with the salvage of the Mary Rose, the famous Tudor warship raised from the Solent in 1982, and which has also been in the news this week, with the opening of its new museum at Portsmouth.

The salvage barge with large crane on board arrived on site a month ago today, but weather conditions have not been helpful. An aluminium cradle or frame was to be built around the wreck, which would offer the greatest protection to the aircraft.

Fifteen days diving have been lost, with shelter being sought in Ramsgate harbour on a number of occasions. It has now been found that the wreck is partly lying on chalk bedrock as well as sand and silt.

Financial constraints are now coming into play, with the original budget of more than £500,000 only allowing 35 days to complete the project. If they stuck with the original plan it would  take 50 days, longer if the bad weather returned, incurring extra costs of tens of thousands of pounds,

"We're having to rely to a larger degree than we originally planned on the structural integrity of the aircraft," said Ian Thirsk, the RAF Museum's head of collections.
"But we have no choice. We're doing what we can to save a unique and precious heritage asset. If we leave it one thing is certain - it won't be there in a year's time."

The Dornier 17 was a mainstay of the German bomber fleets during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The plane in question is thought to be aircraft call-sign 5K-AR, shot down on 26 August that year at the height of the battle.

                                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_17