‘Balance needed with Grandes Rocques parking’
Looking after coastal habitats is important as they are the island’s most florally diverse grasslands, Nature Commission CEO Jessi Jennings has said.
There has been confusion and consternation in recent weeks about why Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services decided to close the Grandes Rocques overflow car park and rewild the area into grassland.
The car park was closed in March, but was reopened in the wake of public uproar when the weather turned hot and there were not enough parking spaces for the popular beach. ACLMS still plans to shut the overflow for good after the summer.
ACLMS has said that coastal grassland is an important habitat and Ms Jennings, who heads the commission that promotes awareness of nature in the island, agreed.
‘Coastal grassland is a priority habitat in Guernsey, being one of our most florally diverse grasslands, supporting lots of plants and animals which live only in that habitat,’ she said.
‘Coastal grassland habitat in Guernsey has decreased in area, and so improving the condition of this site will make a difference to the biodiversity of the area, and the island.’
She said she understood that there were several factors to consider in relation to the land, and a balance needed to be found.
‘Perhaps a balance has already been met, in that the overflow car park has been made available again during these summer months, until works can commence, and then going forward, lots of other parking and transport options are available,’ she said.
More information about Guernsey’s coastal grassland habitat is expected to be included in the State of Nature 2024 report, which is set to be released in October.
Environment & Infrastructure is the committee responsible for ACLMS. An E&I spokesman said it was still planning to close the car park in future.
‘The reason why the coastal grassland habitat restoration project hasn’t started yet was due to it taking longer than anticipated to secure a contractor to carry out the necessary work involved to install the soil previously removed from the Cobo kiosk works,’ he said.
There are a number of other public car parks in the area, including a large car park at Grandes Rocques and spaces on both sides of nearby Port Soif. However, the area comes under strain during periods of good weather during the summer.
