No new homes on Vale reclamation site, say Constables

They went public with their comments in the Guernsey Press (above) after the chair of the Guernsey Development Agency, which was behind the housing proposals, resigned in protest at the project's lack of progress.

It has also emerged that Vale resident deputy Lee Van Katwyk, who is also vice president of the Development and Planning Authority, is in favour of reclaiming Black Rock but so it can be used to create a "mini L'Ancresse Common" area of recreational land.

Independent testing is currently being carried out to see whether dumping inert builders' waste at Black Rock would have any adverse effects on St Sampson's Harbour, Bordeaux or even the north of Herm. Initial results are expected before the end of the year. 

He was opposed to a major housing development at Black Rock because of the importance and beauty of the area – and also because the review of the Island Development Plan, which he is involved in, would make provision for "a lot" of new housing. 

Opposed
Vale Constables John Niles and Richard Leale said the douzaine had come out strongly against Black Rock being used for housing and were opposed to much of the proposals from the GDA. 

"It became very, very obvious from the outset that the plans the GDA put forward are the plans, and they will not countenance any alterations to them in any way, shape or form," Mr Leale told the newspaper. 

While the douzaine was supportive of using inert waste to reclaim Black Rock, its favoured option was to dump it at Longue Hougue Quarry to create useful land in the industrial centre at Bulwer Avenue. 

Mr Niles also expressed the parish's concerns about the latest flood defence proposals for the Bridge. The simplest solution, he said, was to install a foot-high kerb around the edge of the harbour rather than building a brrier down the centre of the road.