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Other Parish Matters

The role of the Parish Douzeniers and Constables in parish matters is pivotal. In addition to the topics described in earlier sections of this site, there are additional and important parish matters for which information is collected here for ease of reference. This section also includes topics and information which is not directly managed or administered by parish authorities, but are nevertheless relevant to successful parish and community life.

In order to find out more information about the 'Other Parish Matters' topics please click on the relevant heading from the list below and the web page will move your view directly to the information section that you have chosen.

Note: Copyright for certain elements of this section of the gov.gg website resides with the Parish of St Peter Port (See also contact details in the Parish Contacts menu at the bottom of this page). Relevant sections on this page are reproduced with appropriate permissions and thanks.

Animals (other than dogs)

People wanting to keep pigs in certain areas of St. Peter Port require written permission from the Constables and Douzaine.

For other parishes requirements about keeping of livestock please use the Parish Contact menu on the right of this page to make direct contact with the relevant parish of residence.

Barbed Wire

It is an offence in any parish to use barbed wire as the outside boundary of a hedge or fence when it borders a public place, road or way at a height of less than 6 ft.

Bornement Permits [See also Planning Section link]

Bornement Permits are required to erect a building or to re-erect on old foundations within 9m from any public road or way. The word "building" includes any well, cistern, cesspit, cellar or other excavation below surface level (whether containing structure or not) and also any wall, hedge, fence or other structure serving as a boundary or otherwise. This will also include applications to demolish a section of the roadside wall, making good the wall ends and creating car parking areas.

Applications may be required by Constables, enclosing the following:

a letter giving brief details on what work is being done.
an approved sketch or drawing which must include a site plan showing a North bearing.
copies of your approval from the Department of the Environment and Building Control.
a cheque payable to the relevant Douzaine' for each application - i.e. if you had a development of, say, five individual houses, this would entail five fees. For the current fee required for submission of a bornement permit, you should contact the appropriate parish office.

If any part of the proposed work is within 1.5m of a public road, you will also require permission from the Public Services Department. However, we will do this on your behalf, but be advised that, by law, the Department has up to two weeks to comment on any application, so this may well delay preparation of the document. Any recommendations from the department will form part of your Bornement from the Parish.

If intended work is more than 1.5m from a public road, we will process the document immediately. The Constables will view the plan/s and once the actual Bornement is signed, it needs to be endorsed by four members of the Douzaine. This sometimes can take several days to arrange, but every effort is made to process applications as quickly as possible.

PERMISSIONS - are granted for smaller applications (such as signage), and do not require the signatures of extra Douzeniers. Current fees are £7.50 per application.

For your information - any Bornement required for properties along the sea front - from the Guernsey Brewery to the Weighbridge - are dealt with by the Department of Environment to whom you should make application.

Cisterns & Quarries

According to law, and in the interests of public safety in every parish:

QUARRIES
must be adequately fenced to ensure they are not a danger to the public. The Constables carry out inspections in September each year and defaulters are reported to the Court of Chief Pleas in October.

CISTERNS
The occupier of land in, or on which a pit is situated so as to be freely accessible and potentially hazardous to any person, shall ensure that such pit is filled in, covered or fenced in such a manner as to prevent any person from accidentally falling into it.

(According to the law, "pit" means any boiler pit, oil catchment pit, water cistern or well - whether or not the same is in use, and includes any derelict such boiler pit, oil catchment pit, water cistern or well).

Any reports or complaints of dangerous cisterns or pits should be referred to the Department of Commerce & Employment (Health & Safety Executive) - Tel: 234567.

Conduct on Beaches

The Parish Constables may have particular requirements in relation to the conduct of Islanders and visitors on public beaches.

Notably, access by dogs is addressed in the earlier sections of this site.

In addition to this requirement, Parish authorities may place signs at access points of beaches and coves indicating launch requirements for water crafts, bathing warnings and other similar notices that may relate to appropriate conduct on beaches. For more detailed and specific information you should contact the parish authority for the relevant beach.

Crown & Anchor Permits

The Constables are required to comment on applications to the Gambling Committee.

Dangerous Buildings

Under a 1919 law, where there is reason to fear that a building/structure constitutes, or is likely to become a danger to persons using the roads, streets or paths in the parish, the Constables and Douzaine may compel the owner to render it safe.

We have a good few instances annually of having to notify property owners of various problems which could be a danger to the public.

The normal procedure is that, once we receive a report that there is a problem, the Constables or a member of staff will view the area in the first instance. A professional report is then obtained and, once that is received, the owner will be contacted and asked to comply with the recommendations in the report within a given time frame. This is always followed up with re-inspections to ensure that the proper safety measures have been taken.

If the matter requires immediate attention, the property owner will be notified immediately, rather than wait for a report.

In circumstances where a property owner does not comply, the Constables and Douzaine are empowered to carry out the necessary work, and any expenses incurred can result in a legal charge being placed on the property.

Films & Entertainment

a 1914 law gives the Constables powers to suppress any "undesirable" activity and bring holders of Salle Publiques Licences before the Court. This includes films and live performances. If a complaint is received concerning the content of any particular film or show and the Constables, after viewing, consider it to be contrary to good morals or obscene, the matter can be reported for further action to be taken. Holders of Salle Publique Licences are not obliged to submit films to the Constables, but generally, if the contents of any film are thought to be contentious, a synopsis is normally submitted several days before the public showing.

Fireworks

Litter

Anyone throwing down, knowingly dropping or otherwise depositing in, into or from any public place in the open air (including any public place open to air on at least one side), and leaving anything so as to cause, contribute to or tend to lead to defacement by litter of any such place could be guilty of an offence.

(It is illegal to deposit household or business refuse in bins or any other receptacle provided in a public place by the Departments of the Environment or Public Services).

This is commonsense, really and, thankfully, the majority of the public are aware of the problem of litter. Regrettably, there are those whose attitude leaves much to be desired.

We are privileged to live in a truly beautiful island, but many areas are already spoilt by the actions of a thoughtless few. Nobody wants to live with streets, lanes, beaches and coastal paths being inundated with unsightly (and often unhygienic) litter and, clearing of such debris costs us all many thousands of pounds each year.

Noxious Weeds

On behalf of the Noxious Weeds Inspector, Department of Commerce and Employment, Douzeniers inspect for such weeds at the same time as they complete their twice yearly hedge inspections.

Seed heads from noxious weeds readily spread on the wind to infest fresh areas, and, perhaps even more importantly, some varieties can be poisonous to animals and humans alike.

Noxious weeks, as illustrated below, are compulsorily required to be cut during the first fifteen days of June and last fifteen days of September annually.

Wherever possible, Douzeniers will either speak to the property owner or tenant or leave a Noxious Weeds Notice indicating which variety of noxious weed needs to be dealt with - advising that a further inspection will be carried out (normally within the next week to ten days) to ensure that the owner/tenant has complied with the Law.

Failures to comply will be referred to the Noxious Weeds Inspector at the Department of Commerce and Employment for further action to be taken - i.e. the Department is empowered to engage a contractor to carry out any necessary work on its behalf, with the cost being recoverable from the owner/tenant of the property.

PARISH AUTHORITIES THEREFORE ASK FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION, THEREFORE, BY BEING AWARE OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES SO THAT REFERRALS ARE NOT NECESSARY.

Obstructions

OBSTRUCTIONS ON THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY

SKIPS - permission to place skips on the public highway rests with the Department of the Environment (Tel: 243400). Should you notice that a skip does not have the mandatory safety lamps, please advise them accordingly.

SCAFFOLDING - the Health & Safety Executive and the Department of the Environment (Traffic Section) issue permits for scaffolding on the public highway. In an effort to reduce the number of scaffolds in the centre of Town, the erection of scaffolding is discouraged between 1st May and 15th September each year, if the reason for such scaffolding is for purely in order to complete decoration of any property. Obviously, where there are structural or safety implications, or if the application is for a long-term development, this is not possible, but every attempt is made to keep the Town clear of scaffolding during the summer months. Other factors we consider are:

the impact on traders.

the impact on traffic management and road closures (i.e. scaffolding might be a problem if erected on a diversion route).

the provision of safe pedestrian access either under or around any scaffolds.

Queries regarding the erection and dismantling of scaffolding should be referred to the Environment Department (Traffic Section) - Tel: 243400.

Comments or complaints regarding the safety of the structure itself should be referred to the Health & Safety Executive - Tel: 234567.

'A - BOARDS' - the proliferation of such boards on the streets and footpaths has long been of concern to the Constables and Douzaine. 'A - Boards' can cause unnecessary obstruction and distress, particularly to visually impaired persons, and people using wheelchairs, prams or pushchairs. It is an offence to obstruct the road or footpath, and any complaints should be referred to the Police.

Vraic (Seaweed)

The gathering of vraic is permitted at all times except between 15th April and 15th July in any year.

Walls

It is forbidden to place pieces of glass or iron spikes on the top of walls of less than 6ft. from ground level on walls bordering a public highway.

Note: Copyright for certain elements of this section of the gov.gg website resides with the Parish of St Peter Port (See also contact details in the Parish Contacts menu on the right of this page). Relevant sections on this page are reproduced with appropriate permissions and thanks.