Around £2.1m to be spent on harbour flood defences in Guernsey to protect housing

Progressing new flood defences for Braye du Valle is vital for the future of the island's housing plans, Guernsey's Scrutiny Management Committee (SMC) has been told.

It comes as plans for the Leale's Yard housing development, where over 300 homes were earmarked, were held up due to concerns over flooding.

But now that access plans have been confirmed for Leale's Yard, updated flood defences for St Sampson Harbour will be drawn up.

At the recent scrutiny review, the SMC was told that flood walls are projected to cost £2.1m to design and implement.

The walls are expected to be planted at knee height, running along The Bridge frontage, and defences will have a 50-year lifespan.

Director of Environment and Infrastructure Claire Barrett said: "It's basically the same design as before.

"It's not starting from scratch but updating the details on that and implementation."

She added that ground would be broken once a business case was outlined for funding as well as an updated design plan.

Deputy Lindsay De Sausmarez hopes that flood defences will reassure property developers that the area will be protected, saying that "we don't want to hold up housing sites".

Currently, there is a 1% risk of the area being inundated with flooding every year.

While this is low, Deputy De Sausmarez warned that this could increase with climate change and that a flooding event would be severe.

She added: "Irrespective of any new developments that are coming forward, we already have a significant number of private dwellings, commercial properties, and critical infrastructure that we want to protect adequately."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our podcast to find out What You Need To Know...