Tuesday 11 May 2021
The creation of a new port at Longue Hougue is in keeping with how the current harbours have evolved over centuries to meet the island's ever-changing needs, according to Guernsey's Harbourmaster.
Under plans published this week, some current freight activity could be moved away from St Peter Port and St Sampson's Harbours, to a new port development near Longue Hougue. This would free up space around the current harbours for other uses.
St Sampson's Harbour would then become a facility dedicated to private leisure boats, with the land subsequently released from port operations providing an opportunity to revitalise the Bridge. St Peter Port Harbour would also be reorganised, including a new passenger terminal and underground parking.
Harbourmaster, Captain David Barker, said the current harbours had existed largely in their current form since the 1800s, and were constructed for the needs of industries of that day. Originally, the main export from both ports was granite, and the primary import was coal, with these cargoes being loaded and unloaded from sailing ships or steamers.
Much of the physical infrastructure we have today largely dates back to then, but as demands have changed, so too have the ports.
Captain Barker said: "The current harbours were born of necessity in the Victorian Age. They were built to support the lives of islanders from a very different era, and shaped by local industries that died out in the island a long time ago. Life in Guernsey then was unrecognisable with what we know today."
Since then, the island has seen the decline of quarrying and local ship building, the rise and subsequent fall of the horticulture industry, and Guernsey's tourism heyday. In the 1900s, liquid fuel and gas imports began, and other freight demands have continually changed as more of what we consume originates off-island.
"Throughout all this change the harbours have continually evolved, adapting and expanding to accommodate each new requirement. We are fortunate that our predecessors had the foresight over many years to build what we have today, because we are still benefiting from it," said Captain Barker.
"The challenge we have now is how we equip what are essentially still 19th century harbours to meet the demands of the 21st century and beyond. What we are looking at now is the next evolution.
"There are issues in both St Peter Port, where so many activities are having to compete for the same space, and St Sampson's, with how we currently import fuel, and including the condition of the current infrastructure. These are all urgent needs to be addressed."
St Peter Port Harbour actually dates back much further than the 1800s, with the first mention of a harbour at "Sancti Petri du Portu" in 1060. The discovery in the 1980s of the wreck of the Roman vessel, Asterix, just outside the harbour mouth is evidence of maritime activity in the area centuries earlier.
Construction of the current inner harbour, between the Albert and Victoria Piers, began in the late 1500s, when the South Pier was built. Nearly 200 years later the north pier was added, followed by the construction of the quay along the harbour front.
Although those original structures have since been replaced with the current piers, the layout of the early inner harbour can still be seen as the Victoria Marina.
The outer harbour was added in the second half of the 1800s, with the construction of the Castle Emplacement and breakwater and the White Rock Pier.
Some form of breakwater existed at St Sampson in the early 1800s, but it was not until 1841 that the South Quay was constructed. A North Pier was added in 1851, and rebuilt in its current form in 1880.
More information on the current proposals can be found at www.gov.gg/futureharbours.
