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Some of those people opposing the 2023 Guernsey Rally had told Express their initial concerns were around the lack of proper communications about the event between the organisers and affected residents, home owners, and livestock owners.
One lady who lives in the Forest said she was only made aware that the rally would pass fields where she keeps animals when the routes were announced via Facebook on Thursday - less than 24 hours before the Friday afternoon start time.
She said the route was due to pass many fields housing horses and cattle, leased by the livestock owners. This meant that even if the owners of the fields had been notified, the information may not have been shared with the owners of the livestock in good time.
Ahead of the rally starting, one concerned owner told Express: "As confirmed by their response to the news, shared by concerned fellow livestock owners who took it upon themselves to spread the word, it appears many horse and cattle owners in the area were blissfully unaware of what is about to happen, and it's more than likely that some - as not everyone is on social media - remain unaware."
Pictured: Some livestock owners were concerned about the impact of the Rally on their animals.
She was concerned about the noise and potential risk of accidents caused by the rally and the lack of information being shared ahead of the event which could have meant the livestock owners could make arrangements to protect their animals.
"Horses are easily startled by loud noise and will run through a fence to get away from it, but there is also the issue of pregnant cattle that may be on the route, who could miscarry if they become sufficiently distressed.
"The root of the problem appears to be the organisers are only obliged to notify land owners and properties bordering the route, thus putting the responsibility on landowners to notify tenants (most of whom don’t live in the area) they don’t see from one year to the next.
"It also appears, from a glance at their Facebook page, that some very alarmed residents on the proposed route were also uninformed about this very large event about to land on them."
Describing herself as a "concerned resident and livestock owner" from the Forest, she said that the Rally organisers would have more support for future events if lessons are learnt from the complaints ahead of and during this year's races.
"If the Rally doesn’t want objections from concerned islanders thwarting their future plans, and wants to garner more support, then they need to improve their communications drastically, engage with islanders, and start fully appreciating (and addressing) people’s genuine concerns, rather than just brushing it off with their standard, dismissive ‘it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but…’ response."
A Torteval resident who had previously raised concerns about the Rally with Express said he had had a row with the Torteval Douzaine, which had backed it prior to this weekend's racing.
He said this suggested there was opposition to the Rally in the Castel, Forest and Torteval. The Forest had previously refused permission for races to be staged in lanes near Le Gouffre but other douzaines had agreed for the event to be staged in their parishes.
Guernsey Police have confirmed officers attended to assist the organisers on Friday night. There were no arrests made and no formal action taken.
Express has asked questions of the Rally organisers, the Douzaines, and Traffic and Highways Services. Follow Express for updates as we get them...
Pictured top: Supplied by Comprop/Nick Despres - further images are available at nickdespres.com and Facebook/nickdespresphotography
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