Cornish people fear new desalination plant to provide more drinking water will harm ecosystem

• Watch: ITV News' Sam Blackledge reports

Plans to build a desalination plant in Cornwall - turning sea water into drinking water - have moved a step closer.

The scheme is seen as a way to ease the water shortages we saw during last summer's drought, when the region's reservoirs fell to record low levels.

Details of the scheme from South West Water have been revealed for the first time and a contractor has been appointed - but not everyone is in favour.

Par resident Jenny Tagney said: "The problem that South West Water don't seem to address is the massive environmental impact that this will have on a much wider scale.

"We're worried about seagrass and maerl beds, which are a unique ecosystem and will be potentially destroyed if the concentrated brine goes out to the sea.

"And if they go ahead with the plans for drilling underneath the seabed, this will disturb all of that ecosystem and we'll lose it forever."

Doug Parr, from Greenpeace, said: "Desalination really should be considered a last resort for providing water for citizens and industry in the UK.

"It has plenty of its own environmental problems. It's expensive. It uses a lot of energy and it's got a poor track record of actually working in the UK."

David Harris, drought and resilience director for South West Water, said: “The extreme weather conditions we faced last year means we are taking proactive steps to develop climate-independent sources of water.

"This will help us to become less reliant on rainfall and more resilient against the impacts of climate change in the future.

"We are working closely with our regulators and other key stakeholders to ensure we are delivering this project in the most responsible way and we are pleased to be working closely with Veolia to build and deliver the proposed desalination for the South West.”