Guernsey Press

Tennis court rubble tipped at Vale vinery

DEBRIS from work on Beau Sejour's tennis court appears to have been fly-tipped at a private vinery.

Published

DEBRIS from work on Beau Sejour's tennis court appears to have been fly-tipped at a private vinery. Glasshouse owner Barry Battle is unhappy that police will not prosecute, although the name of the contractor was on plastic stuck in the first load dumped overnight on Monday.

A similar pile of rubble and dirt was left the next night, too.

But UK contractor Trevor May reacted with dismay and laid the blame on an unnamed local skip firm.

Will-it Vinery in Les Arguilliers Lane, Vale, has been a target for fly tippers before ' a load of topsoil was left there last week.

'It's really obvious where it came from,' said Mr Battle.

Although the name of the contractor was in the waste, police needed to know the individual driver responsible, he added.

'Yes, it is the driver but we're not here 24 hours a day. People around this area are opposed to us building a house here so we can't live on site.

'I just can't understand why that's not enough evidence.'

Mr Battle is threatening to dump the loads in the road if nothing happens.

'It's a quiet lane and a difficult area to police but it seems to be getting more and more of a problem,' he said.

'I wonder what would happen if I picked up that load and chucked it on Beau Sejour car park?'

He has owned the four-acre site since the 1980s and, while it used to be cropped, it is no longer viable as a commercial operation.

Work on resurfacing the tennis courts began on Monday 11 July and they are set to reopen on Monday 5 September.

Trevor May provides a range of specialist sports surfaces, related construction and landscaping.

It had not been informed about the situation until contacted by the Guernsey Press.

'All the waste was placed into a skip on site and moved by a local skip company, that's how it was dealt with,' said Tim Freeman of Trevor May.

'We obtained a recommendation from another on-island company to use the company and had a contract with them to put skips next to the court and then have them removed.'

He added the company was happy to be doing work in the island and was amazed by the apparent fly-tipping.

'This is a big disappointment to us. We put a lot of effort into our work, making sure we get a first-class result.

'Now this unfortunate incident has occurred which clearly we're not happy about.'

The company has finished preparatory work on the courts and returns next week to begin the next phase.

'We've very conscientious guys who have worked for us for a long time, it's not something they'd do.'

A Beau Sejour spokesman said that police had brought the situation to its attention and it was helping them with their inquiries.

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