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The battle for a field earmarked as a new quarry in St. Peter has gone international, with a tourist living in Canada now getting involved in the debate with a rousing letter to States Members.
Dr Tanya d’Anger, a university English professor in Toronto, has written a letter to the States Assembly, urging them to protect the field, as well as highlighting the potential damage that developing a quarry could have on a nearby hotel.
Pictured: Residents of St Peter are concerned that La Gigoulande Quarry will be expanded into a field in the area.
Field ‘MY966’ came into the limelight after the short-term Island Plan supported rezoning it into a place suitable for the aggregate quarry in St. Peter’s Valley to expand into, leading some to ask if the earlier purchase was “a done deal”.
Though Granite Products, who bought the field for £1.65m at the end of 2019, haven’t yet applied to expand the quarry, some residents are already anticipating the move, and vowing to fight “tooth and nail” to stop the potential expansion.
And now the controversy is spreading across the ocean, with Dr d’Anger, who has family in the west of the island, and has visited St. Peter multiple times over the years, writing to States Members to express her “deep concern” over the matter.
“I have treasured my stays at the 5-star Greenhills Hotel, which is directly threatened by the destructive impact of the potential for quarry expansion,” the letter reads.
“I’ve been visiting Jersey since I was a child and have always envied those who have the right – and privilege – of living there.”
Pictured: A professor of English in Canada, Dr d'Anger has written to States members to voice her "deep concern" over the potential expansion.
It continues: “But this is not just an issue of privilege: it’s about stewardship. Jersey is rightly famous for its unique picturesque and tranquil beauty, irrevocably lost in so much of the British Isles.
“This proposal to expand a quarry in a primarily rural, residential area flies in the face of current ecological thinking expressed by experts around the world.”
She said that when she read Express’s article on the purchase of the site, “this set off all-too-familiar alarm bells”, making her ask: “Why else would a local quarrying company be prepared to overpay so exorbitantly for a field?”
Directly addressing States Members, she then asked them “to remember their duty of care to its Island residents and respect this: you are their guardians.”
Comparing the situation to her own city, Toronto, she said that she has "watched with deepening concern the machinations of our current provincial government in tandem with the self-serving and threatening encroachment of developers at the expense of our green zone surrounding the city.”
She added: “Islanders have always managed – with hard work and determination – to repair the damage of these aggressors. Please don’t betray them by allowing the economic ambitions of corporate interests to ruin what makes Jersey so special. Don’t betray them from within.”
Pictured: If the extension went ahead, a lane that forms the border between St. Mary and and St. Peter, Rue Bechervaise, could be extinguished.
Speaking to Express on the motivation to write the letter, Dr d'Anger spoke of her passion for the "tranquility" and "beauty" of the island, stating that Jersey "has something very, very special and it’s worth fighting to hold onto to keep."
She said that looking at comments on the 'Jersey Action Against Quarry Expansion' Facebook group, which has over 400 members, had concerned her.
Bringing up the Jersey legal concept of 'voisinage' - the customary duty owed to your neighbour - she said that "the politicians should have this front of mind, and this is not front of mind," saying that from her off-island perspective, "the optics look bad and wouldn’t look good internationally."
She added: "This just sounds rushed and wrong and it sounds like it is the commercial exploitation for the interests of others... rather than the islanders themselves."
Earlier this month, Environment Minister Deputy John Young committed to publish any correspondence between Granite Products and consultants Arup, which wrote a strategy on future mineral extraction, recommending that the quarry expand into the field.
Granite Products has previously said that it bought the field 18 months ago so that "it had the opportunity to continue to meet Jersey’s needs for construction materials for many years to come.”
It added that “any proposal would be rightly scrutinised as part of the planning process, which will include consultation with local residents and the public."
"As a frequent visitor to Jersey, I am writing to express my deep concern that the States Assembly is considering the expansion of La Gigoulande Quarry in St. Peter’s Valley. I know this area well.
I have treasured my stays at the 5-star Greenhills Hotel, which is directly threatened by the destructive impact of the potential for quarry expansion.
I’ve been visiting Jersey since I was a child and have always envied those who have the right – and privilege – of living there. But this is not just an issue of privilege: it’s about stewardship.
Jersey is rightly famous for its unique picturesque and tranquil beauty, irrevocably lost in so much of the British Iles. This proposal to expand a quarry in a primarily rural, residential area flies in the face of current ecological thinking expressed by experts around the world.
I keep up with Jersey news, and when I read in a recent Bailiwick Express article that Granite Products had paid £1.65 million to buy a green-zoned field, this set off all-too-familiar alarm bells.
As the article points out: no application to extend has yet been applied for, but – in light of the principle having been established in the latest Island Plan – why else would a local quarrying company be prepared to overpay so exorbitantly for a field?
There’s a reason that specific areas have been zoned to preserve land from the adverse environmental impact of increased mineral extraction, and this was clearly laid out in Jersey’s 2000 Mineral Strategy report. I call on the States Assembly to remember their duty of care to its Island residents and respect this: you are their guardians.
I understand the impact of poor governance when the interests of local residents are not respected.
I’m Canadian, and I live in Toronto, Ontario. And I’ve watched with deepening concern the machinations of our current provincial government in tandem with the self-serving and threatening encroachment of developers at the expense of our green zone surrounding the city.
Jersey was invaded by William the Conqueror in 1066… by Nazi Germany in 1940…. But the Islanders have always managed – with hard work and determination – to repair the damage of these aggressors.
Please don’t betray them by allowing the economic ambitions of corporate interests to ruin what makes Jersey so special. Don’t betray them from within."
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