Clarence Battery steps reopen to the public after four years

Work to restore the Clarence Battery steps, which began in February, has been completed three weeks ahead of schedule.

The steps were swept away in a landslip in 2020 after heavy rainfall, and extensive stabilisation work has been undertaken by Environment & Infrastructure and contractor NSP Foundations in order to secure the surrounding cliff face and make the restoration possible.

The new steps follow the same line as the previous ones, and have an improved drainage system which is largely concealed in the ground underneath the steps.

E&I president Lindsay de Sausmarez was delighted that the work was now complete.

‘It feels so good to reconnect Town with the cliffs. It’s a magic area and I know a lot of islanders are incredibly fond of it.’

Neither she nor States infrastructure officer Marco Tersigni were able to say how much the work had cost, however Deputy de Sausmarez did say that it was ‘expensive’.

She believed the cost to be justified through the ‘complex’ work that had been undertaken to stabilise the area, as well as the value the steps would bring to the nearby bathing pools and Town in the future.

She added that E&I would now seek to make progress on the coastal flood defences project on the Bridge, but declined to say when a further announcement on that project would be made.

The work on the steps has meant that almost all of the thick vegetation on the cliff face has disappeared, however Mr Tersigni said that eventually it would all grow back and cover up some of the steps’ features, including a grey brick wall near the top.

‘The wall uses lighter bricks so won’t get as bogged down by rain, and eventually it will be obscured,’ he said.

NSP Foundations managing director Jon Greenfield said the height of the cliff face, as well as its initial unsteady state, had made elements of the project very challenging.

‘The height made things 10 times harder, we had to order specialist kit from the UK – including a telehandler that stretched 23 metres up – in order to reach everything. The clearance work right at the start was probably the most dangerous part as there was no stability and more risk of landslips.’

He said the steps’ design meant they would likely last for at least 80 or 90 years.

‘The design is fairly typical for a project such as this. It’s certainly much safer now and we’re excited for people to use it and enjoy it.’