A St Sampson's constable has said he would believe flood defences were being built to safeguard the north of the island once he saw spades in the ground.
The Environment & Infrastructure committee announced last month that it was looking for a contractor to carry out fresh site investigations to enable a concept design for new flood defences to be built around the area of the Bridge.
This work is expected to help to progress critical housing developments in the area such as at Leale’s Yard.
But flood defences for the Bridge have been mooted for well over a decade, with a number of reports submitted and ideas proposed during that time.
St Sampson’s senior constable Joe Abbotts said he was not 100% confident the latest report would be any different.
‘They have done so many other reports and studies and surveys or whatever else, is this just another one?’ he said.
‘I’m hoping it’s going to be a bit more in-depth and actually take into account the flood risk to everywhere that they’re building, not only on the Bridge itself, but Saltpans and other areas. Black Rock, Leale’s Yard, and then going slightly further into the Saltpans and to Nocq Road, because there’s going to be such a big knock-on effect.
'Where’s all the water going to go to if you’re putting concrete all over the ground?
‘If a survey was done five years ago, why are we not just reviewing that one? If it was done 10 years ago, then OK, maybe we need to go and start again. But you get a report and nothing happens, then five years down the road, you get another report. If you’re spending all this money on reports it could have been actually spent on doing some work.’
Parish officials in the Vale have similar concerns, fearing the States will come up with ‘a stop-gap answer’ that will not last.
They said on the parish website valeparish.gg that they believed the States was simply going over old ground and would come up with the wrong solution.
‘We are grateful to the committee for its communications with us but the latest announcement, seeking a contractor to carry out site investigations under the Bridge, suggests the recommendation will again be for a barrier down the centre of the road,’ said constable Richard Leale.
‘As we have said during previous investigations, what’s needed – in the absence of a tidal gate across the harbour entrance – is for the harbour wall to be raised. Putting a barrier down the centre of the Bridge prevents changes to traffic circulation and will prove to be an expensive stop-gap measure.'
The parish believes that a two-foot wall around the harbour edge would be a simpler solution that would not compromise future traffic layouts on the Bridge.
Environment & Infrastructure president Adrian Gabriel said any flood defence would provide localised protection to the Bridge seafront and, more widely, the low-lying Braye du Valle behind.
‘This will include sites allocated for housing which could otherwise be at high risk of flooding during extreme events,’ he said. ‘This will help unlock these sites for development, including Leale’s Yard, as well as helping to protect major infrastructure and homes located in and around the Bridge. This is an important workstream that needs to be, and is being, progressed.’
Some were surprised to see the committee commit to take a fresh look at designs for the area when options have been outlined in recent years. Deputy Gabriel said that the committee was ‘very conscious of the visual impact on the area and the importance of maintaining good access and parking for customers to businesses in the area’.
He added that what the flood defence would look like and exactly where it should be, would be confirmed through the design work.
‘The timeline and approval process for this will depend on the design and subsequently the anticipated cost,’ he said.
Two months before E&I’s announcement, the Guernsey Development Agency outlined its long-term vision for the area, including the installation of key flood defences at the mouth of St Sampson’s Harbour.
Deputy Gabriel said officers had engaged with the GDA on this work and had been assured that it was possible to align the flood defence proposals.
‘This, as you would expect, has all been built on previous work, updating previous flood risk to take into account the latest sea level rise data and tide levels at St Sampson’s.
‘Previously discussed plans for flood gates at the harbour mouth are about protecting the wider area of St Sampson’s and the Bridge and will be considered alongside other potential options for flood mitigation as part of a wider workstream looking at flood protection for the entire east coast.’
Deputy Gabriel said the last major flood defence study was carried out 2012 by engineering consultancy Haskoning.
‘Recent studies, like those for this enabling flood defence, have either involved updating the flooding risk assumptions in this report, or focussing on targeted areas of the island, including the two Harbour Action Areas of St Sampson’s and St Peter Port,’ he said.
‘The total amount spent on reports and flood defence designs for this particular area in the last decade is £20,000, which doesn’t include the cost of this latest work which will be disclosed after the project has been completed.’