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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what environmental assessments (a) were carried out before and (b) have been carried out during the lifetime of the RAFT project; [216505] (2) how much had been spent on the RAFT project at the date of its cancellation; and if he will make a statement. [216506] Mr. Ingram: At the time of the suspension of Remote Ammunitioning Facility Tamar in 2002, £15 million had been spent on works (covering design, ammunition clearance, dredging and site preparation). Subsequent cancellation and project management costs have increased expenditure to a total of £25 million and this has been highlighted as a potential constructive loss in the departmental annual accounts for financial year 2003-04. A number of environmental assessments were carried out prior to the commencement of the RAFT project. The first in 1996, was carried out by Babtie, the Ministry of Defence's Project Manager. In 1998, the Babtie Group carried out a desktop archaeological study to review the potential effect of RAFT on existing scheduled monuments at Bullpoint. This was followed by a supplementary report on the effects of RAFT dredging on potential buried archaeological artefacts in peat deposits in the riverbed. An Ecological Study, also in 1998 and carried out by Panscape Consultancy, considered the potential impact of RAFT on the key habitats and species in Plymouth Sound and its estuaries. In addition, a Baseline Environmental Survey of Estuarine Sediment and Benthic Macrofauna, carried out by Zeneca and which supplemented the Ecological Study, assessed the potential environmental impact of dredging on surface sediments and resident worms. In 1999, an extensive hydraulic modelling study was undertaken by Hydraulics Research Wallingford, which covered the potential effects of dredging on the River Tamar (in particular on the salmon), the inter-tidal habitats of the Tamar and the salt marshes in the Upper Tamar estuary. A detailed sedimentation study was carried out of the whole tidal extent of the Tamar rather than just the local area of RAFT. The conclusions and results were overseen by an independent expert appointed by English Nature. In 2000, during the lifetime of the RAFT project and following award of the construction contract, a Conservation Management Plan was jointly produced with English Nature and the Environment Agency. In support of this plan, extensive mitigation measures were applied, including noise pollution monitoring of the surrounding areas and water quality monitoring in the River Tamar, during the dredging. The Environment Agency has recently confirmed that, as a result of this mitigation, there have been no permanent effects on fish stocks in the river.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

431 c604W;431 c600W; 216505;216506

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Ammunition Defence Costs Conservation Fisheries Environment protection Environment Expenditure Environmental impact assessment Fish Procurement Dredging River Tamar

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk