Fermain Wall should be repaired by next Autumn

Wednesday 14 November 2018

Fermain's collapsed sea wall should be permanently repaired by next Autumn, Environment & Infrastructure are assuring us after fresh calls to fix it following the latest bout of stormy weather.

Members of the public have been calling for the gaping hole fixed for years, most recently yesterday, before the erosion becomes so bad the cliff path needs to be closed.

The sea wall at Fermain first collapsed around four years ago, and has been left with only some minor, temporary repairs since. And while there is some disagreement over what caused the wall to collapse in the first place - whether that be the sea or the cliff itself - people seem to now all be aligned in saying something needs to be done, and soon.

Pictured: Ross Le Brun and Michael Quittenden, who have been leading calls for work to be done to the wall. 

Deputy Barry Brehaut, President of Environment & Infrastructure, said the committee had plans to get the wall a permanent, long term, fix by next autumn, and those plans will be released in E&I's next agenda pack.

"We are looking to do something by next autumn - hopefully we can erect a new sea defence that is in line with the rest of the old wall," he said.

Deputy Brehaut highlighted how the collapsed portion of the wall, which was built in the toward the end of the last century, was placed further back toward the cliff than the original defences. This, he said, caused the cliff to push back on the wall and knock it over. 

Thanks to ⁦@franlenoury⁩ for giving me the time to expand on the Fermain wall and cliff realignment timeline. This pic shows just how far ahead the 1990s wall was positioned. pic.twitter.com/NPd6UVG2FF

— Barry Brehaut. (@deputybaz) 13 November 2018

"In the meantime there will be rock armour that will go in to help prevent further erosion. We have done that previously but it gets washed out by winter storms. Overall though our goal is to not have to keep making interim repairs, but to do a job that will last once and for all." 

This new call for the site to be looked at started on social media yesterday, following heavy storms over the weekend. It was suspected the weather has caused further erosion, and a group of local runners who use the cliff path above the wall were concerned they could lose access to the track if things continue as they are.

Ross Le Brun from the distance.gg running group said by his estimations, there was only around 10 metres left between where the cliff had eroded to and the path.

"It's a mess," he said. "We are not trying to criticise the States, but we are asking what can we do? Whatever is done, it cannot be just a repair, that won't do it, it needs to be a permanent job that will fix the entire thing."

Mr Le Brun was concerned that there was so much attention from both the island community and the States being put on the wall at L'Ancresse, yet this wall has already collapsed. 

"It is getting closer and closer to the path, and it is going to get to the point where it has to be closed, like they already have done at Soldier's Bay, but while it is just a path, it's a big part of our tourism."

The swell of the sea has been eroding the cliff since the wall collapsed, as can be seen here. 

Michael Quittenden, also from distance.gg, said the path was on a trail used in an International Cliff run called the Nutcracker - a 30 mile double cliff run. If it were to be closed, events like that would have to be cancelled. 

"You can clearly see the swell eating at the underside of the cliff, so something has to be done soon. We havn't seen a tender yet, it would be great if they could give us the plan so we know that something is going to be happening. We just wanted to be a catalyst for things to start." 

Pictured top: Ross Le Brun and Michael Quittenden from distance.gg running group.