Jump to content

'Great Boris Canal' shipping water from Scotland to England to tackle drought


Alan de Enfield

Featured Posts

'Ere we go again !

 

Tories plot 'Great Boris Canal' shipping water from Scotland to England to tackle drought | The National

 

SENIOR Conservatives are backing plans for a “Great Boris Canal” to move massive quantities of water from Scotland and Wales to England, after droughts were declared across the nation.

Parts of England have had to bring in hosepipe bans and wildfire warnings after several bouts of hot temperatures over the summer, as climate change brings more extreme weather to the UK.

Now Tories are apparently considering the bid for a £14 billion “super canal” connecting southern Scotland to parts of England which are suffering from less rainfall than usual.

 

The "Grand Contour Canal"
 

In 2012 Johnson raised the potential of the Grand Contour Canal – a plan created all the way back in the 1940s – which would shift water through the Scottish Borders and down to England’s south-east.

Speaking then, Johnson said: “The rain it raineth on the just and the unjust, says the Bible, but frankly it raineth a lot more in Scotland and Wales than it doth in England.”

 

Now senior Tories have told the Daily Mail that they want to revisit the proposal to help the south and Midlands deal with future droughts.

And a spokesperson for the UK Government’s environmental department, Defra, said millions of pounds are being invested in so-called “inter-regional water transfers”.

They said these “can play an important role in moving water from areas of the country with plentiful supplies to those with high demand”.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Jerra said:

Is this about the same thing as the other Boris canal thread?

 

This one is about the "Contour Canal" originally planned back in the 1940's

 

This was the 'other' (2019) one :

 

A conglomerate of government bodies said that major plans were being prepared to improve water storage and transfer across England and Wales. A £500million scheme called Rapid – Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development – was set up jointly in 2019 by Ofwat, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

These would involve using the River Severn and the Grand Union canal as conduits for fresh water that would alleviate situation in the south of England, which has been worst affected by the drought.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Standard move in the play book. When under pressure, announce a big infrastructure project. That gets the papers talking about it instead of the thing that is putting the government under pressure. The project is never heard about again.

A shame that HS2 didn't fall into that category.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Standard move in the play book. When under pressure, announce a big infrastructure project. That gets the papers talking about it instead of the thing that is putting the government under pressure. The project is never heard about again.

What happened to the Bridge from  Liverpool to Ireland via the IoM?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, alias said:

 

The same thing that happened to the airport that was going to be built in the Thames estuary I expect.

That got built at Stansted.

Rather than Maplin Sands which would have put the jet noise over the sea.

 

Bod.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

A shame that HS2 didn't fall into that category.

 

I agree, it is destroying the canalscape around Streethay and Fradley.

 

PXL_20220805_100121805.jpg.e6815251af78d530cb91f5c4cf270265.jpg

 

3 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

 

Edited by cuthound
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, alias said:

The same thing that happened to the airport that was going to be built in the Thames estuary I expect.

And the Garden Bridge across the Thames, and the bridge we were going to build to France (presumably as a lorry park).

 

Nice to see he's had enough of bridges and moved onto canals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

 

Disagree. Who on earth with a heart can possibly not like trains? Especially not FAST ones....

 

 

I don't mind trains but it is the mass rape of the countryside for little or no gain which annoys me with HS2.

  • Greenie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Jerra said:

I don't mind trains but it is the mass rape of the countryside for little or no gain which annoys me with HS2.

 

 

Cobblers. More trains is ALWAYS good. 

 

Besides, levelling up is supposedly a Good Thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What happened to the Bridge from  Liverpool to Ireland via the IoM?

There was also a tunnel suggested

 

As to HS2 there is some remarkable bits of engineering in progress with tunnel boring machines at work and a bridge building machine for the long viaduct at Colne Brook. I wonder what people thought about about the construction of the Great Central through Leicester beside the navigation with towering brick viaducts changing the local area ?

 

  

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Heartland said:

What happened to the Bridge from  Liverpool to Ireland via the IoM?

There was also a tunnel suggested

 

As to HS2 there is some remarkable bits of engineering in progress with tunnel boring machines at work and a bridge building machine for the long viaduct at Colne Brook. I wonder what people thought about about the construction of the Great Central through Leicester beside the navigation with towering brick viaducts changing the local area ?

 

  

I doubt the swathe of country cleared was anywhere near as wide as that being cleared for HS2.   On top of that I doubt there was as much concern for reductions in biodiversity etc as there has to be today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had all this fuss and bother when the motorways were built, what about the trees, the wildlife!

I'll bet there are now more trees on the verges than were ever chopped down, forming a people and farmer free wildlife corridor. 

 

What percentage of our countryside has been taken up by HS2, 4 5ths of bugger all. 

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Jim Riley said:

We had all this fuss and bother when the motorways were built, what about the trees, the wildlife!

I'll bet there are now more trees on the verges than were ever chopped down, forming a people and farmer free wildlife corridor. 

 

What percentage of our countryside has been taken up by HS2, 4 5ths of bugger all. 

 

 

 

This is pretty. much what I find myself thinking too. I drove for 200 miles yesterday without encountering ANY HS2 earthworks scarring the landscape at all. 

 

And once it is done and nicely bedded into the landscape like the canals are now, the extra infrastructure will be fantastic for the Birmingham economy.

 

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Jim Riley said:

We had all this fuss and bother when the motorways were built, what about the trees, the wildlife!

I remember well the M6 up here in Cumbria being built, the swathe of country stripped bare was less than half those I have passed for HS2.

20 minutes ago, Jim Riley said:

I'll bet there are now more trees on the verges than were ever chopped down, forming a people and farmer free wildlife corridor. 

In a way this is true however certainly up here none are mature and or aging.  Mature and aging woodland is vital for some creatures e.g. a trivial example Woodpeckers can't make nests in young living trees.   Couple that with the fact that on the M6 most of the trees planted were by the "Economic Forestry group"  which means they trees were those they selected not necessarily for wildlife but for their groups aims.

20 minutes ago, Jim Riley said:

What percentage of our countryside has been taken up by HS2, 4 5ths of bugger all. 

It isn't a case of the percentage of land taken up it is the habitats destroyed and or damaged.  The route goes through three areas that have had millions spent on them by governments for nature improvement.  This fragments the habitats, as it does in all wood etc.  Fragmentation often means the area can hold fewer territories for whatever wildlife.  It fragments 22 "living landscape areas.  The railway also blocks the movement of wildlife from fragment to fragment.  108 ancient woodlands are under threat.

 

Those are a few of the problems being caused for a slight reduction in travel time for a minority of people.  I haven't even mentioned  such things as veteran trees, wood pasture, old meadows, mires, wetlands and other important habitats.

  • Greenie 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.