Halt on use of Vale quarries for inert waste welcomed by Constable

A move by the States Policy and Resources Committee to stop £300,000 being spent investigating the possible use of L'Epine and Guillotin Quarries for dumping inert builders' waste has been welcomed by the Vale's Senior Constable.

'I, and I think the majority of Vale residents, will be delighted that P&R have exercised some common sense in this matter,' said Richard Leale. He was commenting following the headline (above) in Saturday's Guernsey Press in which the committee said it was not prepared to release the money to fund an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the two quarries, which had an estimated lifespan of just three years.

Blocking the money in this way will have to be approved by the States so use of the two water-filled quarries could potentially still go ahead if an EIA is funded, but this now seems unlikely.

Mr Leale regretted that concerns for Vale residents had been triggered in this way but hoped that some good could come out of it.

'Looking at what has already been written in the Guernsey Press and elsewhere on this, I hope that the States and the deputies will now be minded to look for proper, long-term solutions that benefit the island for decades to come.'

He was referring to the possible use of Longue Hougue Quarry, currently in use for water storage, as a site for inert waste and the subsequent release of Les Vardes when Ronez moves its operations to Chouet Headland. Longue Hougue holds 1,100 megalitres while Les Vardes would contain 1,500ML.

'I'm aware the timescales aren't ideal but short-termism doesn't produce the best solutions for the island,' he said. 'Before looking to despoil two areas of coastline, that once again happen to be in the north of the island, there are other obvious options [at Longue Hougue] and proposals for the eastern seaboard plus St Peter Port Harbour that should all be taken into account before a final decision is taken.'