Wednesday 05 March 2014
Guernsey Press Enquiry:
Following the latest round of damage, I was interested to find out some costings for seawall repairs.
At the start of February the department stated that there was at least £40,000-worth of damage, excluding Fermain.
I wanted to check if there were any estimates for repairing Fermain yet - even just a ballpark figure - and whether there was any timescale for when repairs would take place. Or could the seawall there be left unrepaired due to the cost of the work?
Also at the start of February, the department said it was concerned about staying within its £77,000-a-year budget for coastal defences. I wanted to check whether the damage now exceeded that amount, whether there was any estimate for the total cost of all repairs, and what the department was doing now to get funding for the necessary repair work?
Lastly, what is being done at Vazon today and how is the installation of the rock armour going?
Environment Department Response:
On-going repointing and minor repairs resulting from storm damage have fully utilised the Departments normal £77,000 coastal defence maintenance budget. The Environment Department will continue to carry out prioritised repairs and if these cannot be funded from reductions in revenue expenditure elsewhere within the Departments budget, the Department will liaise with the Treasury and Resources Department.
The installation of the rock armour as temporary protection at Vazon has gone to plan and will be completed today.
The full repair at Vazon, along with other repairs around the coast, such as at Fermain, are being considered according to priority. This is likely to involve consideration of repair options, preparation of designs and tendering of works. All will be subject to a process to ensure the States achieve a competitive cost and value for money. It is therefore not prudent for the Department to comment further on potential capital costs of the various repairs.
The Department's staff are very busy at this time and would appreciate it if further enquiries in respect of this and other coastal defences could be held pending a further update which will be issued on Friday.
Contact Information:
Environmental Services Unit
Environment Department
Tel: 717200
