PLANS to build a £30bn barrage across the River Severn to generate electricity have been ditched as 'too costly' by the government.

However the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the scheme may well be revisited, possibly in five years' time. And plans are afoot for privately funding a barrage, possibly with Middle East backing.

The DECC states: "There is not a strong enough strategic case for Government to proceed with a scheme at this time.

"Given the scale of the energy and climate change challenge and potential risks of other technologies not deploying to time, cost or capacity, the Severn could well play a role in the future – although it is unlikely that Government would consider it again before 2015."

While Monday's announcement was welcomed by wildlife, surfing and fishing interests, the overall reaction was mixed.

Pete Bungard, chief executive of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "We have always been strong supporters of harnessing the tidal power of the Severn Estuary, our biggest natural resource, in whatever way.

"Whilst it's disappointing that the barrage project has been axed, in the current economic climate it is totally understandable.

"The barrage was the most expensive scheme on the table and would have needed billions of pounds of investment from the start – but it also would have generated the most power, creating an estimated 5 per cent of UK energy. We are still very much in favour of harnessing the tidal power of the River Severn and hope that in the future alternative technologies can still be found."

And Forest MP Mark Harper said: "It was right for the last Government to carry out a feasibility study into the construction of the Severn Barrage to look in detail at the costs and benefits before proceeding. 

"It presented opportunities to produce clean and reliable energy for the country.  However, it was expensive and I was not convinced it was the right way forward. Other low carbon options, like new nuclear power stations, seemed to make more sense. I am pleased that the Energy Secretary has also reached this conclusion."

The news was welcomed by Friends of the Earth Cymru.  However the group urged that Nuclear Power should not be regarded as the alternative.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are known to be delighted and WWF Cymru are urging the government to commit to finding an alternative sustainable solution that benefits the economy, the environment and local communities.

Surfer Stuart Ballard, director of Save Our Severn and The Severn Rivers Trust, said: "We have a five-year breather to do things. The barrage boys won't give up till we bury them in silt."

And John Powell, secretary of the Severn Estuary Fishermen's Association, said the barrage proposal was never a serious contender.

He said: "What concerns me is the role of the county council in all this. In November 2006 a considerable sum of council tax money – our money – was spent on a so-called symposium to explore the strengths and weaknesses of a barrage project.

"In my view it was an unbalanced meeting at which local people had no opportunity to put their point of view. It was highly biased and undemocratic. I certainly don't think council tax payers should pick up the bill."