‘Quarry at Chouet is needed more than ever’

If permission is granted by the Development & Planning Authority, quarrying at Chouet could begin as early as next year, which Mr Roussel said would support the island’s infrastructure.

‘It’s taken quite a long time to get to this point,’ he said, after the application went live.

‘The time has been well spent. I’m sure people are still going to have concerns but hopefully the information we have submitted will help to alleviate this.’

Last year it was decided that Chouet was the only suitable location to establish a new quarry, and a drop-in session was held in October to address islanders’ concerns, many of which were environmental.

‘The States considered the options at the time and the alternative option to Chouet was full importation,’ Mr Roussel added.

‘In our experience over the last 12 months with the small amount we do import, it’s getting harder and harder and more expensive – we don’t have the infrastructure we need in place to allow that.’

To meet the demand for aggregate, being self-sufficient was important.

‘There are major States infrastructure projects likely to come up in the next few years so, for the island’s benefit, a quarry at Chouet headland is more important than ever.’

During a States debate back in September, DPA president Deputy Victoria Oliver and vice-president Deputy Andrew Taylor both voted against quarrying at Chouet, but Mr Roussel was optimistic now that Ronez had ‘addressed all the issues’.

‘After that [vote], the DPA produced a development framework in November and we have used that as the template for all the questions we have answered.

‘We are hopeful on that basis that the DPA will agree and grant planning permission.’

Permission is being sought for two phases of work, which would result in 12 years of quarrying life at Chouet and some 1.3m. tonnes of high-quality granite.

In about 10 years’ time, the States will review the project. It is possible that quarrying may continue at the headland, releasing a further 4.1 million tonnes of granite.

‘If the whole headland was eventually quarried, it could potentially last 35-40 years,’ Mr Roussel said.

In terms of easily accessible reserves, the current Les Vardes quarry has just over a year of life left and would be used in tandem with Chouet.

Following the initial four-year-long phase, it is proposed that the Les Vardes processing plant will be dismantled, freeing up the remaining reserve and extending the quarry’s life to about five years.

‘Our main concern is to maximise the reserves we do get at the end, but beyond that we are happy to discuss with the States alternative options for its use in the island’s best interest,’ Mr Roussel added.

In the Island Development Plan, Les Vardes is identified as a water safeguarding area, but a recent possibility has emerged that it could be used for inert waste storage in the future.