THE government has put in a fourth application to install a barrier along part of La Haule promenade after three successive attempts were rejected by planners.
It has emerged that the new plans include a 225-metre stretch of dark green railings that will stretch from the end of the former German-era anti-tank wall and La Haule slipway.
The Infrastructure Department argues that the railings are needed to protect the public.
In its new submission to Planning, the department said that a member of the public was knocked unconscious in a “near-fatal accident” at the site in 2019.
It also cites a police report about a cyclist who fell from the wall onto the beach below in 2023.
It argues that the design of the railings would have a “maritime character” and that the dark green colour would prevent them being an eyesore.
It also argues that “sea wall railings are present, for example, in the much less developed St Ouen’s Bay”.
The JEP revealed earlier this year that the Infrastructure Department had spent £7,270 on failed planning applications for the project – £5,280 on the March 2024 application and £1,990 on the 2020 bid.
The department gained approval to build a 30cm wall along the promenade in 2022 at a cost of £90,000, but that was later rejected as it could be a trip hazard for walkers.
As well as being expensive, the scheme is unpopular, having garnered dozens of submissions to Planning by members of the public over the last five years.
“These railings are not needed. It will spoil the view of the bay and are a waste of public money, both in the installation and ongoing maintenance,” one submission said.
“Absolutely no need for railings along this area, not even from a safety point of view.”
“Not only is it a significant waste of money, its impact on the vista across St Aubin’s will be profoundly negative,” another added.
About the current plans, one parishioner posted on Facebook: “It’s a tactic often used by property developers, to keep putting in applications until the public gets fed up with submitting objections and permission is finally granted.”
“There’s far more risk of injury or death by stepping off the kerb into traffic, than stepping off the edge of the sea wall on to what is mostly soft sand on the beach,” he added.
