At least one incident at diving platform, E&I president admits

Concerns about the risk of potential legal actions became apparent in the Assembly yesterday as deputies discussed the future of the diving platform at the Ladies’ Pool following a prohibition notice issued by the Health & Safety Executive earlier this month.

Environment & Infrastructure president Lindsay de Sausmarez, who is leading the States’ efforts to save the diving platform, said she had to be circumspect and aware of legal issues when answering a question about whether accidents known to have occurred at the pools had involved the diving platform and caused serious injury or worse.

But pressed by Deputy Neil Inder, she said: ‘I can confirm that at least one incident, possibly more, related to the diving platform.’

The HSE’s main worry about the pools is known to concern the design of the Ladies’ Pool, in particular its depth, even when it is full of water.

Deputy de Sausmarez, States officials and leaders of a public campaign are currently using a one-month extension to the prohibition notice to investigate options which they hope will keep the facilities open and a funding bid for improvement works is about to be sent to the Policy & Resources Committee.

In response to questions from Deputy Simon Vermeulen, the E&I president said that stones washed into the pools from the sea had last been cleared in 2022. But she remained unsure whether adequate additional depth could be obtained by carrying out a similar exercise again or would require the excavation of bedrock.

Deputy de Sausmarez challenged misinformation circulating online which suggested that a licence would be required before volunteers could manually clear the bathing pools of loose stones.

Deputy Inder was concerned that the intervention of the Health & Safety Executive at the bathing pools could be ‘the thin end of the wedge’ and lead to signs ordering people not to jump into the sea off west coast piers.

‘Those don’t fall within anything like the same category because they are not leisure facilities provided for that purpose,’ said Deputy de Sausmarez. ‘I can give reassurance that the long-held Guernsey tradition, of which I have been an enthusiastic participant, of leaping off piers is not going to be engaged by any of these processes, as far as I am aware.’

The Employment & Social Security Committee, which is legally responsible for confirming prohibition notices, came under fire for delegating its authority to officials.

Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller claimed that ‘lack of political engagement has created enormous community dissatisfaction’. But ESS president Peter Roffey dismissed the idea of politicians involving themselves in health and safety assessments and argued that was not the cause of the problems at La Vallette.

‘I think the problem in relation to the diving board is insufficient funding being made available for maintenance of what I regard as a national treasure, the bathing pools. That’s the situation that needs to be corrected,’ said Deputy Roffey.

The exchanges were prompted by five questions about health and safety and the bathing pools which Deputy John Gollop had submitted last week.