THE project team behind plans to build a hydro-electric power station on the River Derwent said it hoped to start construction in the next 12 months.

Derby City Council wants to build the generator at Longbridge Weir to generate electricity which would feed into the nearby Council House.

The £1.66m station plans have been on the cards for more than a year but have been held up by flooding concerns raised by the Environment Agency.

A spokesman for the project team said it was hoped construction would start at the end of 2010, or early next year, and be completed by the middle of 2011.

Councillor Bob Troup, cabinet member for housing and environment, said: "Hydro power, using existing weirs, is one of the most effective and least intrusive forms of renewable energy generation available."