Diving for joy as the board comes back at La Vallette

Road-testing the newly health & safety-compliant diving board yesterday afternoon were several people who had worked to keep it open.

Among them was Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, president of Environment & Infrastructure, who said she was delighted to be able to confirm the board’s reopening.

‘And especially in this kind of weather. To be honest I cannot wait to get in,’ she said.

‘I found a lovely photo the other day of my kids and a whole bunch of their cousins up on the platform there, and it just brought home how much it means to so many people, it’s so much part of what we love about the island.

‘The effort that has gone in, from the third sector, from the business community, from government, working together, just shows what we can achieve.’

The platform was closed in February this year after safety concerns over the depth of water beneath, with threats of its immediate removal only withdrawn after 300 islanders protested.

However, since then, a significant amount of silt and rubble has been cleared by members of the community and bedrock has been successfully mechanically removed, to increase the depth of the pool around the platform to 3.5 metres.

This and other planned works have resulted in the States receiving confirmation that the prohibition notice has been complied with.

One of those involved in digging out the area beneath the pool was Laurie Watson, from local building company F Watson & Sons. The firm is celebrating 80 years in business this year.

‘I grew up swimming here, as did the whole family, to see it reopen means a lot to us,’ he said.

‘I feel very humbled about the support we had from people like Bob Froome, Norman Piette, Ronez, and CP Plant – they really did pull together in the right way to make this happen so swiftly.’

Well-known long-distance sea swimmer Adrian Sarchet, who started the original campaign to save the board, would not be drawn on whether the diving board’s future should ever have been under question.

‘I think the important thing about today is that we have ended up with an iconic piece of Guernsey’s heritage open for use by children in the future, and it’s even safer now than it was before,’ he said.

‘We should all feel blessed to live in a place where magic like this can happen. The community spoke, government listened, and local business facilitated a solution – largely for free.’

Mr Sarchet said not only had he used the board as a child, but he used to jump from the top when it was higher.

‘As for that coming back – I think that’s probably a sort of a topical conversation for a different time,’ he said.

E&I confirmed that the depth of the diving board would be regularly checked and the necessary steps taken to maintain the required depth.

Over the summer, additional improvements are being carried out at the bathing pools to improve safety, including making it easier to access the diving platform.

Two of the first islanders in were 9-year-old Lucas Webb, who was there with Liam Dougherty.

Lucas said he was annoyed to find it had ever been shut.

‘I’m so happy to see it back open,’ he said.

‘I’ve been doing dives and Liam’s done front and back flips. I came a lot last year and never got anywhere near the bottom.’

Mr Dougherty said they had been over the moon to find the diving board open.

‘It really shouldn’t have been shut in the first place. If there was a problem, there should have been a community forum to discuss the issue.

‘To think we came just a few days from it being removed – we would have lost a timeless community asset.’