​COUNTY supporters and opponents of the proposed £21 billion Severn Barrage are waiting to see whether the scheme will be ditched by the Government this autumn.

It follows suggestions that Energy minister Charles Hendry believes the power generating scheme may be “dead in the water” because of soaring costs.

Gloucestershire County Council was one of the first authorities to call for a full investigation into the benefits of the scheme.

The council’s chief executive Peter Bungard said: “We supported the study and were part of the regional consultation process.”

The county council had effectively kicked off the barrage debate. The Government has set a target of producing 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

Mr Bungard said of the barrage scheme: “If we don’t do this we do something else. What is that going to be?”

Supporters say that work on a barrage would provide a tremendous economic boost for the region as well as provide a great source of renewable energy.

But opponents say the cost in environmental terms on wildlife in the Severn Estuary-including the removal of the Severn Bore tidal wave - are too great.

Various plans for a barrage have been aired over the last six decades but in recent years it appeared that real progress was being made towards getting the project off the ground.

A feasibility study is due to be published in October following a two-year public consultation.

The Labour government was keen to see a barrage built but the new administration has begun a massive cost-cutting programme, which affects the Department for Energy and Climate.

Mr Hendry was speaking at an energy conference in Norway when the issue was raised as it seems increasingly likely there will be no public funding available for the project.

Pressed about where the barrage might be built, Mr Hendry said: “We have been studying responses to consultations and we are looking at that and we are due to publish a report in the near future.”

The minister was then asked if there was any future for the scheme.

He said: “We are also looking at the likely costs and these have been escalating over time.”

He added the Government was keen to be viewed as a careful guardian of the public purse and hinted that any plans for a barrage would be unlikely to get government funding.

Earlier this year government minister Chris Huhne said he was keen on environmentally friendly schemes but stressed that cost was a major factor.

A series of feasibility studies have been carried out into the possibility of building a barrage to harness the tidal power of the Bristol Channel and five options are being considered. They are:

Shoots Barrage – near the Severn Bridge, estimated to cost £3.2 billion and it would generate just under one per cent of the UK’s electricity.

Beachley Barrage – a smaller scheme close to Chepstow, which would cost £2.3 billion.

Welsh Grounds Lagoon – a series of lagoons on the estuary between Newport and the Severn Bridge, estimated to cost £4 billion.

Bridgwater Bay Lagoon – between Hinkley Point and Weston-super-Mare, estimated to cost £3.8 billion.

A Cardiff-Weston Barrage – between Brean Down and Lavernock Point at Penarth, costing £20.9 billion, generating five per cent of the UK’s electricity needs.