Thursday 31 July 2014
Media Enquiry from Channel Television:
As per our conversation please find below a couple of quick questions about the current budget and knock on affects.
'With the storms earlier this year depleting the Environment Departments coastal maintenance funds, how has the department been prioritising work and have some areas such as the Petit Port steps been neglected?'
and also:
'When will the agreed supplementary money be injected by Treasury and Resources into the fund and where/what will it be spent on?'
Environment Department Response:
The Environment Department instructed the annual works to scale the cliffs of loose rock at Petit Port and additional works to install more rock catch netting on the cliffs above the bay which were undertaken, as scheduled, in April. The bay has therefore not been neglected as a result of storms earlier this year. During these scheduled works the undermining to the slipway became evident and on the advice of the SPS Engineers access to Petit Port was restricted until a full investigation into the extent of the damage could be determined.
The public are asked to adhere to the signage at the site and not access the steps at Petit Port.
At present the States Property Services Engineers, who provide the technical support to consider the options and draw up proposals for rectifying damage to coastal defences and structures, are of necessity focusing their resources on the numerous urgent works required to the island's coastal defences. The coastal defences protect roads, essential services and properties and repair works are prioritised according to the importance of the infrastructure they protect. The Engineers are also involved on large scale projects for the Harbour and for repairs at Longue Hougue
Works to assess the full extent of the damage at Petit Port will be undertaken as soon as resources allow. Depending on the outcome, it may be necessary for the Department to proceed to a form of tender for the repair works in order to ensure value for money. An update will be issued as soon as there is any further news on the options and likely timescales. Unfortunately, no timescale can be given for this.
The Department has submitted a request to the Treasury and Resources Department for consideration of a Revenue budget increase for 2015 for coastal defences. Subject to approval this funding would be used to increase general maintenance regimes around the coast to improve the general standard of condition of coastal defences.
Contact Information:
Environmental Services Unit
Environment Department
Tel: 717200
