P&R supports proposal for quarrying at Chouet
THE senior States committee has come out in favour of restarting quarrying at Chouet, as proposed by Environment & Infrastructure.
Policy & Resources supports the move on a number of fronts, including the global environmental impact of importing stone quarried elsewhere.
It said quarrying on-island was ‘essential to support security of supply to meet government and private sector infrastructure priorities’ and also noted the double benefit of local jobs and taxes and ensuring that the island takes responsibility for environmental impact.
The committee said it was aware of tight timelines for quarry operator Ronez and so was ‘very keen that the States reach an agreed position swiftly’, especially given the importance of aggregate supply to many Guernsey infrastructure projects.
And although it acknowledges that some aggregate importation may be required, given the large projects lined up in the Government Work Plan, aggregate should be sourced locally until that is no longer an available option.
Importation would be likely to increase costs of aggregate, which would inevitably be passed on to the customer.
‘This would result in increased building costs in an already difficult time where, for example, house prices are increasing fast as demand outweighs availability,’ the committee said.
It said that increased costs would have a negative impact on the efforts being made to address the island’s over-heating housing market and on States capital projects including schools and the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
And setting up to handle increased importation in the short-term was unplanned and uncosted, and any work necessary would have to be done ahead of longer-term plans for harbour enhancements.
While it accepted that local quarrying would result in ‘negative localised environmental impacts’ it said the negatives from importation outweighed those, and the chance to clear oil from the Torrey Canyon quarry after more than 50 years was ‘an opportunity that should not be missed’.
‘The committee is cognisant that full importation would incur the lowest carbon emission footprint locally but agrees with the E&I in that as a jurisdiction mindful of the global impacts caused by man’s activity, scope two and three emissions cannot be ignored in the context of climate change when making this strategic decision.
‘We must take responsibility for all emissions created as a result of products required locally, as is the agreed States policy.
‘The potential for reputational damage should we move to full importation is significant and should be carefully considered. As government we need to work with and support the initiatives being led by our community, not against them.
‘Ronez is environmentally focused and endeavours to make its operations as sustainable as possible when the company’s business is opening and operating quarries. Should supply be met through importation, the way in which stone is extracted would be out of our control and may result in overall emissions being higher and greater environmental damage.’
P&R is also supporting the idea of a break clause before a third phase of Chouet headland is developed to assess how technology has evolved.
