A PETITION calling for the Victoria Marine Lake to be restored and maintained has been signed by more than 1,000 Islanders, meaning the government will have to respond.
Calls have been growing for the historic pool in St Aubin’s Bay to be salvaged.
The pool was first opened in 1897 and was restored at a cost of £315,000 between 2012 and 2014 but has since fallen into disrepair following storm damage.
A petition, lodged by Nina Zaech, described the pool as of “significant historical and cultural importance” and one of only two such pools in the Island, the other being the bathing pool at Havre des Pas.
“Victoria Marine Lake predates the listed Havre des Pas pool by eight years, yet it remains unlisted and at risk,” said Ms Zaech.
The newly-formed “Save Our Pool Working Group” was now advocating for its restoration, she wrote.
“Despite some investment in the past, the pool has seen minimal maintenance over its 128-year history,” Ms Zaech wrote. “Restoring the pool would preserve a vital piece of Jersey’s heritage while promoting health, leisure and tourism.”
The pool was effectively unusable as sluice gates had been kept open for the last two years, according to the petition.
Petitions which garner 1,000 signatures receive a response from the responsible minister, in this case Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan, while the handful which receive 5,000 are debated in the States Assembly.
Deputy Inna Gardiner has called for the pool to be restored and raised the issue during a recent States sitting.
Mr Jehan said the government was committed to making the pool safe in the short term but questioned whether spending more money to repair it represented “value for the taxpayer”.
He also highlighted that of 2,190 responses received to a public survey regarding Jersey Development Company plans for the Waterfront, only nine responses referenced the Marine Lake.
The petition can be found here: petitions.gov.je/petitions/201109
