MP calls on Government to stop ‘stalling’ on tidal lagoon

OGMORE MP Chris Elmore has called on the Business Secretary to give the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon the go-ahead.

Speaking during Business Energy and Industrial Strategy questions in the House of Commons, he asked Greg Clark MP when the UK Government intended to respond to the First Minister of Wales’ offer of generous financial support to get the project off the ground.

Mr Elmore said: “The Welsh Government is ready, Swansea Council is ready, the investors are ready: when will the UK Government be ready?!

“This project would bring benefits for the whole of South Wales – far beyond Swansea Bay – and it’s just the kind of infrastructure investment which we need to grow our economy.”

First Minister, Carwyn Jones, offered the UK Government financial support for the lagoon, but is yet to receive a response. He reiterated his offer when he spoke to the lagoon’s CEO Mark Shorrock in Janaury.

The Hendry report, published in January 2017, concluded that “the evidence is clear that tidal lagoons can play a cost effective role in the UK’s en- ergy mix and there is considerable value in a small pathfinder project.”

Mr Clark responded to Mr Elmore’s question by stating that “officials are meeting with their Welsh Government counterparts” to explore the proposal.

Mr Elmore added: “This constant stalling from ministers in Whitehall is doing nothing for investor confidence for the future. Theresa May needs to stop flip-flopping and do something radical for once: get this pioneering project going, before another country beats us to it!”