Will L'Ancresse plan result in unusable and deformed bay?
I AM WRITING to express my concern at the most ridiculous and ill thought out plan concerning the L'Ancresse anti-tank wall which the Environment Department seemed to think they could sneak through without anyone noticing. The Environment Department, and in particular Deputy Brehaut, have come up with a plan that is neither taking down the wall completely nor repairing the wall properly. In fact, after hearing the interview Deputy Brehaut gave on BBC Guernsey the other day, it is a plan that they don't seem to know or understand themselves. In the interview Deputy Brehaut stated that the slipway is to be removed, a fact that was not conveyed to the public in the meetings, nor was it included in the presentation slides. This appears to be a new development.
He also stated that the only option apart from his plan was to place rock armour along the length of the wall at a cost of £450,000. This is not the case at all. As per Environment's own presentation, which is available online, the cost of repairing the wall and toe properly was costed at £450,000, while the cost of the rock armour revetment was £1.8m.
We are repeatedly told to look at the photos of the beach in the 1930s to see how lovely the beach would be after this experiment has been put into place. It was indeed a beautiful bay, I am not disputing that, but I would say that it will look nothing like those grainy photos if this plan is put into action. It will not be a majestic sweep of dune-backed bay with vast expanses of sand. The beach we will end up with will be two-thirds anti-tank wall with a gap cut into it, the beautiful arc will be deformed by the forced sub-bay they create, the sandy expanse will be deformed by ugly rock armour groynes extending into the bay (these are the height of the remaining wall and extend further than the slip does now – no amount of sand will cover or hide them).
The result of this plan will be the loss of the kiosk and the toilets, for which they have made no provision for relocation, and now we are told the slip will be removed as well. This will render L'Ancresse East as an unusable bay, without facilities or an easy way to access the beach (do you really think they are going to let people scramble down the newly-forming dunes – Deputy Brehaut's words – to access the beach?).
The majority of people believe that we as an island have neither the money for this plan or, in this age of climate change, the luxury of removing active sea defences. Yes, I know it was originally an anti-tank wall but it has served as a sea defence for over 70 years, so I think it has earned the right to be called that.
For the price of this plan, we could fix the L'Ancresse and Fermain walls.
I hope the States debates this plan fully and listens to public opinion by voting to fully repair the wall, replace and pile the toe and in doing so safeguard the beach, its history and the amenities for years to come. And I urge everyone to contact all the deputies and make their feelings heard, put a ribbon on the protest wall at the beach and sign up to the 'Save the L'Ancresse Wall' Facebook page.
LOUISE BECKER.
Editor's footnote: Deputy Barry Brehaut replies: Thank you for giving me an opportunity to respond to your reader's concerns. Firstly I need to point out they are correct there are no plans to remove the slipway. I was allowing my own view, which is that the slipway will be used less because the new beach will be accessible by other defined paths if the realignment of the beach was approved, to form an opinion I shared during the radio interview.
The figure of £450,000 remains accurate, as our committee is being asked to spend the bare minimum to repair the wall (by some States members), hence the reference to the 25-year 'maintain and improve' option which would see the installation of a rock armour 'toe'. It would be cheaper initially than the planned realignment, but such a short-term option is not economically justifiable. Specialist engineers advise that significant additional investment would be required during that time to continue maintaining the wall. This is, therefore, an unpredictable option, with each panel of the wall costing approximately £80,000 to repair (including dismantling/reinstating the rock armour) each time. This is poor value for money and simply delays a long-term solution for this area of the wall.
But more generally, and sorry for the repetition as we have given this information out before, the 50-year life 'Resist Change' option for a full height rock revetment with width of 25 metres is estimated at £1.8m. The width of the rock revetment would extend beyond the length of the slipway. A revetment of this size would reduce the area of beach available for recreation and there would be less drying time between tides. While this option gives protection to the Second World War-era wall, it would not prevent the wall deteriorating behind it. Dismantling the rock armour around the damaged section would be a costly exercise which may be necessary without warning. It also runs the risk of leaving the remaining structure vulnerable during repairs, particularly during winter conditions.
No decision has yet been made about the kiosk and toilet facilities. It would be desirable to retain them and we are acutely aware of their amenity value. Protecting the kiosk and facilities is being investigated and costed separately so that any decision can be made fully informed of the financial implications.
The writer is correct, it will not look like the 1930s photographs. However, it is useful to show our generation and our children what was lost at L'Ancresse when the wall was built. The visualisation above shows how the approximate 200m width of beach and dune may look when established between the two rock groynes. It might be more interesting for people to look at the beach at Les Amarreurs, backed by dunes with the road behind. Les Amarreurs beach is almost 200m from the end of the car park to the start of the shingle ridge.
Far from being 'deformed', a natural sandy bay at L'Ancresse would develop which can be enjoyed for longer during spring tides – as people do now at Les Amarreurs, Port Soif and Grandes Rocques. Access paths to the new area of beach would be created down gentle slopes at either side from behind the wall.
It is important that we look to the future and to what the next generation will be facing in managing the island's coastline. Natural coastal defences of dunes and shingle banks are the most cost-effective. The existing dune-backed beaches around the island require minimal funding to maintain.
They are also the most readily adaptable to the challenges of sea level rise associated with climate change.
I sincerely hope political colleagues and the community see the merit in our proposals.
Anyone interested in the background and facts surrounding the plans for the managed realignment at LAncresse can find out more at www.gov.gg/lancresse.
