Belle Greve reclamation would affect marine life

I just wonder if the States have thought through carefully enough their idea of more land reclamation at the north of the island.

Do they not realise that once started, our coastline along that stretch of the island would be seriously affected by filling in an entire section of the bay? Are they not aware that the tidal flow will be further affected? (it has already been changed by the landfill up to the present day). The currents are already running faster than they did when Longue Hougue was first created. This new infill would exacerbate this to a degree, with marine life and habitats irreversibly and adversely affected. Certain species of marine life are resident to Belle Greve Bay in particular. Land reclamation would seriously reduce their presence above and below the water line. I wonder what marine experts and environmentalists would have to say about this . . .

Is there not surely to be a knock-on to such reclamation of land where other islands are concerned? It is clear that the north end of Herm would not remain unaffected; this is supposed to be an area that is being protected from erosion. I’m not sure that such erosion could be prevented with these current proposals.

Do the States not know that the area of land that meets the shoreline is a designated area of biodiversity? Since other States departments have designated this as such, then how would it be correct for this to be overridden by waste management? Why would it be fair if bullying by certain deputies was to negate this designated area? Wildlife must be given priority, with corridors of unspoilt nature to move through the island, if we are not to lose their natural habitats.

I wonder also, that the States have the gall to attempt to claim the land below the shoreline which, I understand, belongs to the Crown. In other words, it doesn’t seem to me that the land is theirs to claim/reclaim.

I realise that Guernsey is a small island and that it is heavily populated. However, I question certain deputies’ lack of thinking ‘outside the box’ in dealing with the problem of inert waste. It is my belief that they are purely going for the easiest solution.

Announcing their plan at such a late stage is, in my opinion, a typical movement by stealth, which reveals their hope that people won’t notice what is really going on – the destruction of our coastline and the treating the north of the island once again as a second-class citizen.

MISS B. DAVIES,

beldiva@cwgsy.net