What lies beneath...
Amid fears of collapse, a neglected German tunnel beneath Clos de Mont Arrive was opened up recently for the first time in years. Nick Mollet donned a hard hat and joined the exploration. Pictures by Peter Frankland
Amid fears of collapse, a neglected German tunnel beneath Clos de Mont Arrive was opened up recently for the first time in years. Nick Mollet donned a hard hat and joined the exploration. Pictures by Peter Frankland CLOS DE MONT ARRIVE residents are demanding that a full and detailed engineering report into the state of a neglected German tunnel near their homes is undertaken by the States.
They are increasingly concerned about the danger of collapse of the tunnel that runs underneath their properties.
'It will tell us that everything is 100% secure or that there has been movement and some remedial work is required,' said residents' committee spokesman Bob Le Bargy.
One of the entrances in Rougeval Estate was opened up and the tunnel explored recently for the first time in many years.
Previously, the area outside had resembled a Malaysian jungle with a mass of undergrowth and thick vegetation preventing access.
A gate had been erected to stop potential dangers to prying children - even though the tunnel was intrinsically safe.
Some islanders believe it would make sense to clear the tunnel and it would be a wonderful tourist attraction if safety could be guaranteed.
A small handful were able to delve into the dark haunting past under German Occupation last week and found some of the rusty remnants of equipment still underground.
It was surprisingly dry inside but became wetter the further one explored and the decaying leftovers of field kitchens, old bikes, gun limbers, vehicles and a radar unit were still evident.
Residents living above fear collapse. 'It's an unknown quantity and there are no regular checks by the States,' said Mr Le Bargy.
is responsible for inspections to ensure it is in a safe condition. They say they are not responsible but there are a few contradictions to what they have said in the past.
'It seems they chose the cheap option when preparing the site for development rather than a sound engineering solution.'
States officials were conspicuous by their absence during the inspection.
Ernie Gavey, who works for the Occupation Museum and who wrote a fortifications guide, helped conduct the latest examination but insists that a full engineering report is required.
Drain holes down the centre of the tunnel would make a trip through it perilous without torches and a searchlight.
Clos resident Paul Bourgaize, a member of the Occupation Society, suggested that there was a problem with the tunnel's void. He questioned whether a rubble mound was a suitable way of levelling the site, originally as a short-term fix. There is still a continuous 20m rock fall inside.
A preliminary condition report was carried out.
Many decades ago, plans to flatten the site were disregarded and instead one end was blocked and filled with hundreds of tonnes of hardcore.
Rubble was pushed in and bulldozed from below when the tunnel began to collapse. It is not known what exactly has happened above the roof.
But the area is believed to lie underneath the boundary of the residents' estate.
'My house could fall a metre,' warned Mr Le Bargy.
An infill area at one end was pinpointed and assessed and the tunnel was found to have no detectable live material.
Much of it is believed to be lined, but due to the fractured nature of the rock, severe falls have occurred over the years in the unlined section.
'When we were looking at the cavities around the concrete lining of the tunnel, we noticed some of them are filling up with loose rock. There is evidence of some movement of the existing rock above the concrete lining,' said Mr Le Bargy.
The tunnel was used by the liberating forces to dispose of much unwanted former German equipment and, while much was removed by the scrap firm, Uphams of Guernsey, in 1946, some items are still trapped inside.
Work on building the tunnel started in 1942 but ground to a halt in October 1943 and was never completed.
Up to 6,000 workers were involved in work on the island's fortifications but many were forced to return to France to strengthen the main Atlantic wall defences and repair bomb damage.
In 1995 it had been hoped to open up the large tunnel to the public for the Liberation celebrations, but that never materialised.
The 8-900ft tunnel complex, which has three widely separated entrances, had been visited at the time by a Board of Administration representative.
In his book, German Tunnels in the Channel Islands, Michael Ginns says that it had artillery and field kitchen limbers as well as Froya radar aerial arrays.
But he said that because the main, central entrance was heavily banked up and concreted, it was unlikely that any of the interesting relics would ever see the light of day.
