Aspects of harbour usage need to be defined before any plans are put forward

HOW can you put forward such a plan that has a total disregard for the surrounding areas and infrastructure? I asked about the future of The Rowing Club, the Yacht Club, the Model Yacht Pond, launching/recovery slips, angling etc. I was told ‘Oh, that will all be sorted out later’.

That is not good enough.

These very important aspects of current harbour usage need to be defined before any plans are put forward. I fear that the current and future facilities are going to be lost, with some sort of piecemeal offerings to appease the dissenters.

It was also intimated that more areas would be gated and closed off to the general public.

There has been no mention so far of the land required for contractors’ plant, machinery and materials. How much of the piers’ car parking, dinghy parking, boat parking and other general access will be lost?

Who is going to pay for this very expensive, small field targeted project. According to recent reports our island can’t afford it so we must be looking at private funding. Will this be a single investor who then takes over the total operation of St Peter Port Harbour or will it be some other arrangement?

We haven’t been told.

Our harbour needs improvements and repairs in many areas and certain facets of this plan are welcome but lots of questions need to be answered before we sign away all of our Guernsey people’s rights.

PETER MCCRACKEN

Guernsey Ports commercial manager Doug Wright, responds:

Your correspondent is correct to identify that a potential development in St Peter Port Harbour raises a lot of important questions, not least for current harbour users. He is also correct that we don’t yet have all the answers. However, to be able to consider what might be possible, and even desirable, we have to start somewhere.

It may be helpful to explain the stage we are at. Over the last year we have carried out various studies, looking at whether a new marina in St Peter Port Harbour is technically feasible, and what potential benefits it might bring. We have also started developing a business case, to identify whether it could operate commercially in its own right. The result of this feasibility study will be published in full in a policy letter due to be submitted in March 2023 – we still have some studies to complete and we would like to include the views of the public.

We recently published the findings of the initial studies, through the media, online, and at a public drop-in, so that islanders could find out more and give us their views. We want to be clear this is not a final proposal but an in-depth concept design to show what could be possible. That is why we were not able to answer everything in the detail your correspondent wanted at the drop-in. We can however, give him and everyone else the assurance that these issues are important and they will be considered properly should the concept of a marina in the Pool of St Peter Port Harbour be approved. What we are doing now is sharing the information we do have, so that people can let us know what they think about the general principle. We can then reflect on that feedback as part of the further considerations.

We would therefore encourage everyone to have a look at the information we have published. They can do this by going online to www.gov.gg/poolmarina – where they can also leave their comments – or by coming along to the next public drop in, the details of which will be announced shortly. We also have posters at the airport and, currently, at Beau Sejour, which provide an outline of what we have been looking at. We will be happy at the drop-in to answer any questions if we can, and we will be honest about what details we don’t yet know. We will be really pleased if more islanders take the opportunity that your correspondent has, to let us have their views.