HOT topics including the Severn Barrage will be discussed at a meeting next week. Welsh entrepreneur Gareth Woodham, founder of The Severn Lake Project will be attending the meeting of Burnham s Chamber of Trade on January 17.

HOT topics including the Severn Barrage will be discussed at a meeting next week.

Welsh entrepreneur Gareth Woodham, founder of The Severn Lake Project will be attending the meeting of Burnham's Chamber of Trade on January 17.

He will be giving a talk on the benefits of a giant barrage stretching from Brean Down near Weston to Lavernock Point in Wales.

The project has received global interest and is being given serious consideration by the Government as an alternative, greener source of energy for the UK.

If given backing, the 10-mile Severn Barrage across the Bristol Channel could produce five per cent of the nation's power and possibly result in less tidal variation on Weston seafront.

Proposals for the barrage include 200 turbines and initial estimates say it could create up to 40,000 permanent jobs. Other ideas include a road running along the top to link Somerset to Wales.

The meeting on January 17 will be held in the town council offices off Jaycroft Road in Burnham at 6pm. Other items on the agenda include the future of town centre management in Burnham and number plate recognition cameras in the area.

The Severn Barrage is also featured in a documentary called Severn Stories, a series of programmes on ITV West.

The series, which started on January 3, will also feature the gantry canes at Portbury Dock as well as the affect the Severn Barrage proposals could have.

The series is being presented by Dr Marty Jopson, who also featured in Brainiac and Local Hero, and features interviews with people living near the river.