Make Chouet a wildlife haven

My mother is from Guernsey and I have a large family on the island and have been a regular visitor for nearly 60 years. However having read about the proposal to move quarrying to the Chouet headland I feel compelled to comment.

Now that the headland is no longer being used as a landfill site I have been looking forward to visiting when it has all been landscaped and planted with wild flowers, which would make it the premier headland on the island with stunning views over to Pembroke and Grand Havre. This would have made it a wonderful destination for wildlife, locals and tourists.

Hence my dismay at the quarrying decision and the reasons behind it. While accepting environmentally everyone should ‘do their bit’, on a global scale this decision would make next to no difference and just destroy what is and could be a wonderful environment in the process, all for a relatively short period of time. The headland would be lost forever, a classic example of PC getting in the way of common sense. Another consideration is the numerous heavy lorries going back and forth from the quarry, which would also have a large detrimental effect on the atmosphere of L`Ancresse Common.

On one of my recent visits I remember seeing in the Press a national award-winning photograph taken on the headland of a barn owl in flight carrying a mouse with a kestrel trying to seal it in mid-air – an amazing photo.

If this proposal goes ahead, images like that would be lost forever. A great loss for wildlife and people for all generations to come.

JON OWEN

Cheshire

Local Wildlife Supporter and Member of Chester Zoo