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Development of first-time buyer homes and sheltered accommodation won't be able to go ahead in St. Ouen unless a £1m investment is made to help them connect to the mains drainage network.
The Vice-Chair of the Comité des Connétables, Deidre Mezbourian, outlined the challenging situation in a letter to the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel, who had invited comments on the Infrastructure Minister's proposed strategy for dealing with liquid waste between now and 2026
The Liquid Waste Strategy predicts that millions will need to be invested in the Island's sewerage network to accommodate the construction of new homes over the next few years.
In her letter, Mrs Mezbourian said that several parishes were already having to put developments on hold.
"One such example is the Parish of St Ouen where the development of planned first-time buyer homes and sheltered housing will require an estimated investment of £1 million to connect to the mains drains network," she wrote.
"Other parishes also have areas of land identified for development in the Bridging Island Plan but, in practice, development is likely to be some years away as the current infrastructure is inadequate."
Pictured: Vice-Chair of the Comité des Connétables, Deidre Mezbourian.
The Constable continued: "The installation of significant drainage infrastructure will also require major road work and this is likely to include the reconstruction of some roads to accommodate the sewer system.
"Whilst estimated costs are outlined in the strategy (£41.2m estimated to fund various Liquid Waste Strategy projects from 2022 – 2027 in addition to an estimated £47.5m required for ‘Business as Usual’ projects), the cost of such road repairs/reconstruction is not specifically mentioned.
"We are concerned at the significant impact this could impose on islanders over an extended period of such work and also about the implications for parish budgets for by-roads (if funded only by the parish an increase in the parish rate will be required)."
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