The HM Receiver General, David Pett, lodged the plans in July, saying that the defences on the eastern side of Maîtresse Ile – the main island of the Minquiers – had significantly deteriorated over the years, sustaining damage during a storm in 2014 and partially collapsing in 2018.
According to Socrates Architects, which is involved in the project, the replacement sea wall will have a 100-year lifespan and will use a ‘recurve’ wall design to deflect incoming waves back out to sea – the same shape as the defences recently constructed at Beaumont.
Geomarine are due to carry out the work at the site, which lies within the Coastal National Park and the green zone and has RAMSAR Convention status which provides a conservation framework for wetlands of international importance.
According to the planning application, work on the island is due to begin this month to coincide with the end of the bird nesting season.
The Jersey Oyster Company’s Normandy Trader landing craft will be used to transport machinery and materials to the reef, which is just under ten miles south of Jersey.
It is the same boat which was recently used to retrieve a sunken yacht from the area. It is also used to dump sea lettuce – collected from St Aubin’s Bay – away from the Island’s shore.
The Planning Department approved the application with three conditions:
- That an archaeological plan is submitted before work starts to ensure that no items of archaeological interest are missed.
- Measures – aimed at mitigating any ecological impact the work may have – are implemented.
- A method statement is drawn up confirming which areas of the reef will be a ‘no-go zone’ for contractors.
Also accompanying the application was a planning officer’s report, which said: ‘The Historic Environment and Natural Environment officers have no objection to the reconstruction of the sea defence wall and, therefore, [it is] not likely to have any detrimental impact upon the wider setting of the site or on the landscape character of the area.’
