Castel residents share ideas about future of coastline
COASTAL parking and dogs on beaches were two of the themes that emerged from Castel parishioners at a parish drop-in regarding the future of the coastline on Saturday.
A steady stream of people visited the Douzaine Room with their thoughts and suggestions on the douzaine’s plans to establish a 10-year vision for the parish’s coastal areas.
‘Visually, we consider the coastline the jewel of the crown in the Castel parish and we’re seeking the views of everyone ultimately,’ said Dave Chester, vice-dean of the douzaine.
‘We’re not trying to be prescriptive or to suggest anything, but really seeking the views of the population and how they would like to see it develop or remain the same.
‘It’s a case of whether they want more or safer access to places, more communal facilities, or even upgraded facilities, like the public toilets.’
The Castel coastline runs from Richmond to Port Soif, and parishioners revealed their concerns of the crowded parking at and around Cobo on busy days, and also how some would like to see permanent dog-free beaches.
The douzaine’s sub-committee, consisting of Mr Chester, and douzeniers Jo May and Richard Graham, understand the difficult task of finding a balance and a general consensus, describing the feedback so far as ‘a dichotomy of opinions’.
One common theme of the meeting however was the well-appreciated work of Festung Guernsey at Fort Hommet, and many people requested to leave this as it is, thanks to the local organisation transforming the greenery and historic relics, and have the rest of the coastline to match.
The sub-committee has highlighted the potential use of La Mare De Carteret playing fields as a village centre for the parish.
‘Within the planning domain Cobo is a village centre, but unlike a lot of other centres in the island, such as St Peter’s, which revolves around the parish church, the parish church of Castel is on the border of St Andrew’s,’ said Mr Chester.
‘We raised the question that with the secondary school closing down, would those playing fields be a suitable place for a village green where people could play cricket, children could play and there could be accessible changing and toilet facilities?’
Other parishioners agreed that Castel did not have a true village centre like some other parishes.
The douzaine initially approached stakeholders with property or businesses in the area, and now that it has been opened up to residents in the parish, it also hopes to eventually gather the views of the rest of the island.
