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Engineers will be in St Peter Port Harbour in the first quarter of 2022 as investigations continue into developing a new marina in the 'pool' outside the Victoria Marina.
The States agreed to the investigations in June after a heated and at times chaotic debate on the future of the ports. The debate ended with little clarity about how the idea of a pool marina would be taken forward as two committees - the Policy & Resources Committee and the States' Trading Supervisory Board - were sent away to carry out separate investigations.
The Policy & Resources Committee was directed to report back to the States with a policy letter by no later than this month but has not submitted one. Meanwhile, the States' Trading Supervisory Board, which oversees the ports, is moving ahead with its investigations.
For years, Guernsey has experienced a shortage of marina berths for boats over 30ft long. Supporters of a pool marina believe it could meet much of the currently unmet demand and raise several million pounds of additional income for the ports and benefit the wider economy.
At the time of the States' debate in June, the President of the Guernsey Marine Traders’ Association, David Norman, said: "This has been a considerable barrier to local families owning a boat for the first time, getting afloat and enjoying our Channel Islands waters. This has equally been a barrier for people with a small boat that wish to upscale and explore further afield."
Pictured: The central area of St Peter Port Harbour outside the Victoria Marina is known as the ‘pool’ and has not been routinely used for commercial shipping for many years.
The States' Trading Supervisory Board is expected to report to the States by the end of 2022 with the results of its investigations.
“This is a complex programme which will develop proposals within St Peter Port Harbour for a pool marina with associated marina facilities and will include costings and timelines to deliver a marina,” said the Ports' Commercial Manager, Doug Wright.
“The timetable to carry out all the investigations which will shape the policy letter to be presented to the States' Assembly in December 2022 is ambitious, but the ports team is making good progress and engineering investigation teams are due to be on the ground in quarter one of 2022.”
Pictured: The investigations are being led by the States' Trading Supervisory Board. The President of the Board is Deputy Peter Roffey and its members are Deputy Charles Parkinson, Deputy Nicholas Moakes, Stuart Falla (pictured above) and Simon Thornton. Mr Falla chairs a sub-committee of the Board which oversees the airport and harbours.
Most of the investigative work will be undertaken in the quieter winter months to limit disruption to vessels as much as possible.
“We are working with our consultants on securing specialist surveying and seabed core drilling equipment this coming winter,” said the Ports' Project Civil Engineer, Jenny Giles.
“This equipment is needed to assess the potential footprint of a new marina and any possible limitations of the area, geology and surrounding infrastructure, so that we can present the best possible options to the States Assembly."
There will also be demand studies and stakeholder engagements taking place early in the New Year.
Vessel owners and operators who may be affected by the work will be contacted in advance.
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