The Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure has put together proposals to manage the 272-metre stretch of anti-tank wall at L'Ancresse East until 2030, funded from existing coastline management budgets.
A Requête to pause the managed realignment strategy was approved in 2020. That Requête suspended the realignment until 2030 but required a significant amount of work on the wall to take place in the interim period. As the cost to fully implement it was neither provided nor subsequently approved, the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure was unable to fulfil the terms of the Requête and so actively explored other options.
In order to move the matter forward and find consensus on this challenging issue, the Committee consulted with the Policy & Resources Committee, the requérants remaining in the Assembly, and the Vale Commons Council. The following approach has been agreed, which will be met by existing coastline management budgets:
- Rock armour protection will be placed at panels 8 & 9 (like that already placed at panels 4 & 5) to provide protection to the apron in front of the wall.
- As an additional health and safety measure more permanent fencing will be installed behind the wall.
- The estimated cost of this phase of works is approximately £100,000 - £150,000.
- Regular monitoring of the wall will continue, with an update report to be provided to the Committee annually.
- In the event of a breach, the Committee would take immediate action, which may include the placing of rock armour and concrete works, to reduce the risk of unravelling of adjacent panels and limiting the impact of further loss of materials from behind the wall. Estimated costs for reactive works involving the placing of rock armour are £50,000 - £75,000 per panel intervention.
The management approach, as set out above, respects the primary aims of the Requête, which is to suspend work on the managed realignment of L'Ancresse East until 2030. As such, the Committee does not propose any changes to resolutions 1 and 2 of the Requête. However, it is proposing that Resolutions 3 and 4 are rescinded as they are incompatible with the new approach that has been agreed with the key stakeholders.
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure said
"The recommendation in this policy letter is a straightforward, pragmatic proposal that simultaneously respects the spirit and main intention of the Requête, the Government Work Plan as prioritised by this Assembly, and the current constraints on public finances. It was developed through constructive dialogue with the remaining requérants. The Committee can implement this proposed new management approach within its existing budget, meaning the policy letter does not ask the States for any additional resources."
