PRIME Minister Keir Starmer has been asked to meet local MP Rachel Gilmour to discuss a new £11 billion plan for a West Somerset tidal lagoon.

Mrs Gilmour wrote to Sir Keir this week to say she wanted to talk with him and other Ministers about ‘the huge potential benefits’ of the lagoon project.

She said the scheme would provide reliable clean energy for 120 years, and would be ‘a massive lever for economic growth and jobs’ in West Somerset.

Mrs Gilmour also believed funds raised through community infrastructure levy and a section 106 legal agreement could provide ‘crucial capital’ for local priorities, including ‘redevelopment of the B3191’ Watchet to Blue Anchor road.

She said: “I have no doubt the West Somerset lagoon project would be transformational for our constituency and for the country.

“I look forward to hearing from the Prime Minister, as we look to progress these plans.”

Her letter followed proposals by a consortium, which includes London Eye and Brighton i360 architect Julia Barfield, for a 14-mile sea barrier curving from Minehead to Watchet to generate power from the second highest tidal range in the world.

The plans also include a walking and cycling track along the top of the curved barrier, a 300-berth watersports marina, a lido, and an observation tower.

Mrs Gilmour said in her letter to Sir Keir: “The lagoon would cost roughly a third of the budget of Hinkley Point C, and would provide clean energy for 120 years, with the potential to generate electricity for two million homes across the UK, all while offering a more reliable and predictable source of renewable power than that generated by solar and wind.

“What is more, the plans include a 300-berth marina, water sports facilities, and other amenities, which would be a lever for growth and jobs in West Somerset, an area that currently ranks among the lowest on national social mobility measures.

“This would be an iconic piece of national infrastructure with genuinely transformative potential for the region and the country.

“This Government has made clean energy a central pillar in its policy agenda, and this project aligns directly with that objective.

“I have requested meetings with your colleagues in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

“I would also welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this exciting proposal and explore how we might collaborate to take it forward.”

The consortium behind the scheme includes retired professor and engineer Chris Binnie, who lives in West Somerset and previously worked on a Severn Estuary tidal barrage scheme which was not taken up by the Government.

It also includes former Minehead town councillor and businessman Steve Pickard, who lives in West Quantoxhead and has been involved in local tidal lagoon plans since 2013.

The project team said a mix of new businesses and public community use offers would bring vibrancy to help the local economy diversify and expand beyond the existing leisure offerings, creating a new destination.