Inert waste could form part of harbour plans

Wednesday 26 September 2018

Two of Guernsey's deputies have challenged the official plans to use inert waste to reclaim land at Longue Hougue - saying it could instead be dumped in St Peter Port Harbour to be used for future developments there.

Deputy Neil Inder said he and Deputy Barry Paint have been looking into the issue since it was first suggested to the States that Longue Hougue was the only suitable location for the dumping of inert waste.

Late last year Deputy Emilie Yerby challenged the Longue Hougue plans with a successful amendment, which saw E&I come back with an idea of using either L’Epine or Guillotin quarries for inert waste disposal.

That idea was met with resistance from parishioners in the Vale and Policy and Resources refused to fund an Environmental Impact Assessment and the plan was dropped, meaning Longue Hougue was looking as the only likely location for land reclamation using inert waste again.

Pictured: Longue Hougue in St Sampson. 

Deputy Inder said the price attached to using the quarries had also rocketed since it was first suggested, with indications it could cost as much as £42million, with "every indication was that these costs were likely to rise again."

Using his Facebook page to communicate with voters, Deputy Inder said E&I were left in "an odd limbo where the only option on the table was the original Longue Hougue South project."

Unhappy with the situation, Deputies Inder and Paint both felt the initial Inert Waste Strategy "was left wanting" and they started looking again at other existing strategies, "such as the Ports Master Plan, the Seafront Enhancement Area, the Retail Strategy and probably any previous or forthcoming Tourism Strategy.

"The question was being asked ‘why hadn’t all of these reports been got out on one table and reviewed?’ "

Deputy Inder said "extensive conversations with the politicians of STSB and their officers" followed and he and Deputy Paint think there could be some new options to be discussed.

One could see St Peter Port Harbour used for land reclamation using inert waste, with early indications suggesting creating around 33,000 square metres finished, with 230,000 cubic metres of infill, would cost around £7million and take around four years from start to finish.

The pair said that if that were to happen then a 160metre ro-ro jetty could be created.

At present, this idea is at the very early stages with meetings between Deputies Inder and Paint and Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, who Deputy Inder said "was generally warm to the overall concept", and with Deputy Gavin St. Pier which Deputy Inder said was "a frank discussion about how we’ve all got to this point and a general acceptance of the merit’s of considering the harbour area."

Speaking in the September States meeting this morning, Deputy St Pier said the intervention by Deputies Inder and Paint was constructive and it is thought likely it will be used in the next stage of planning.

He said the decision to refuse to authorise the expenditure on the two quarries was made based on clear information by States' Committees working on this matter and that, "in short, the Committee made an evidenced-based decision, and one that recognised that we have a duty to consider carefully how we spend public money. There is no requirement for us to report further to the States.

"I should add, though, that the creative input from Deputies Inder and Paint to question alternatives has been constructive, and I welcome their constructive challenge. The President of the States Trading Supervisory Board will be making a statement in the November States meeting, which the Committee welcomes as the appropriate next step."

Deputy St Pier's speech can be read in full here. 

Pictured top: Deputy Neil Inder is suggesting land reclamation could take place at St Peter Port Harbour.