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The States are being asked to give the green light to get planning work off the ground for the extension to the Longue Hougue land reclamation site.
The current site is used to manage ‘inert’ waste material from construction and demolition projects, such as rubble, stone and earth. It is expected to be full in around three years.
Extending that site was the final option left on the board after a research process looked at 50 potential solutions.
Pictured: Longue Hougue South would have capacity for more than 11⁄2 million tonnes on inert waste, and would be expected to take between 11 and 15 years to fill, depending on the quantities received. Once complete, it would provide an area of more than 105,000 sq metres for future development.
It would involve constructing a new breakwater, extending the reclamation site southward by around 500 metres, which would link to the shore at Spur Point, enclosing an area that could be infilled with inert waste. This could be available for use in 2024, and have estimated capacity for 15 years’ infilling.
A comprehensive study of the potential environmental impacts has been carried out, which proposed a number of ideas to offset any damage the local area could suffer from the work.
A joint policy letter from the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure and States’ Trading Supervisory Board (STSB) is now seeking approval to begin the planning process. That will include a planning inquiry, headed by an independent inspector, which is required before any proposed development can be considered. That would provide an opportunity for all parties to put forward representations or raise any objections.
Pictured: The States is being asked for the go ahead to begin the planning process that could pave the way for an extension to the Longue Hougue.
However the new site, known as ‘Longue Hougue South’, would only be one element of an overall strategy for managing construction waste, which States Members are also being asked to approve. That will encourage measures to reduce and recycle of materials.
Guernsey Waste has already awarded a contract to a local company to recover and recycle inert material at Longue Hougue, for reuse in other projects. The Development & Planning Authority is also working with the construction industry on implementing waste management plans for major developments. These encourage material to be recycled within a building project.
These measures would extend the life of the current site and any future inert waste facility. However there will still be a long term requirement to dispose of some material from the local construction industry, as a large proportion is unsuitable for reuse.
Pictured: The EIA concluded that the most significant effects would be the negative visual impact in the immediate vicinity of the development, due to the loss of the current coastal area.
Members of the project team behind these plans will be on hand to answer questions at a public drop-in at Beau Sejour on Friday 6 March from 12:30 to 19:00 and Saturday 7 March 090:00 to 16:00.
STSB is also now carrying out an EIA on a potential land reclamation project to the east of the QE2 Marina at St Peter Port Harbour. That is part of a separate programme, looking at long term harbour requirements and possible port development.
Some inert waste material might be suitable for use in such a project, but it is not considered a long term solution.
That programme is also considering whether freight operations could be relocated away from St Peter Port Harbour, to free up space in the centre of Town for other uses.
Pictured top: The new reclamation would be to the south of the Longue Hougue.
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