Landslides: public safety warning on Rozel pier

Wednesday 31 August 2016

Access to Rozel pier could be restricted to protect the public from landslides, following a Royal Court warning that "...the risk of sudden collapse is severe."

In December 2012, a landslip meant beach huts were engulfed by the overhanging muddy cliffs and one chalet was even deposited into the middle of the road by the tide of earth and sludge.

The hut owners duly went to war with millionaire Kevin Leech, who it's believed owns the land above the huts, and who has now been told he must allow access to his land for repair work to be carried out, due to an old Jersey law called 'voisinage.' 

A judgement has now been published, following a Royal Court decision made earlier this year, calling for Mr Leech to grant access to the area and permit investigatory repairs, costing nearly £4,000.

The ruling also stated that there is a “severe” risk of another collapse, and that Mr Leech, “...has done nothing to address it.”

It is a clear victory for the beach hut owners, who say Mr Leech has failed to respond to their requests for the cliff area to be made safe.

The ruling might even lead to the road at the foot of the cliff being closed to the public, due to safety concerns. 

The decision of the court read: “Applying the law of voisinage to the facts of this case, we find that the steep bank adjoining the Boat House (and the other huts) constitutes a hazard in that it is unstable. It has given rise to landslip in the past and the risk of sudden collapse in the future is severe. 

“A landslip could cause substantial damage to all of the huts, if not their entire destruction, and could extend to the public road. The landslip in December 2012 lifted the Blue Hut bodily into the middle of the public road. A deep circular failure involving the whole slope, we venture to suggest, gives rise to very serious consequences both in relation to the huts themselves but more importantly, to any occupiers of the huts and members of the passing public. The risk of sudden collapse is severe, those responsible for the public road and the safety of those who use it might want to give consideration to whether it should remain open to the public. 

“The defendant (Mr Leech) is fully aware of the serious hazard the steep bank presents and has done nothing to address it. We conclude, therefore, that the defendant is in breach of its duty to the plaintiff under the law of voisinage.” 

The law of voisinage, the report concluded: “Is now firmly established as part of the law of Jersey. It was defined as a mutual duty on neighbours not to use their properties in such a way as to cause  damage to each other.”

The report says Mr Leech must now allow access onto the cliffs in order to carry out a topological survey and “the defendant will not obstruct that access.” 

Following that exploratory work, engineers can begin their full study of the site with a view to stabilising the steep bank.

The report also states that road users could be at risk. “It seems to us that this is not a matter which just concerns the private rights of the hut/site owners. There is a real risk here to members of the public that use the public road.”

The plaintiff for the court action was Mrs Mary Venturini, who owns one of the beach huts and has been a critic of Mr Leech for many years. 

Trinity Constable Philip Le Sueur said: “I am just very sorry that the owners of the beach huts have been waiting so long to get proper redress. It is a tragedy because I understand some of the hut owners have been using them for generations.”