Fields along Route Isabelle could give up their explosive Occupation secrets this year.
A contractor has been appointed to carry out a ‘deep intrusive survey’ to look for bombs buried there since the early 1940s.
Bomb disposal expert Ben Remfrey has been pushing for the fields to be excavated to look for the explosive devices since at least 2019.
He only went public with his concerns about unexploded devices left to lie in the fields last year, saying that the States were gambling with public safety by only doing a shallow survey of the site.
6 Alpha Associates has been contracted to carry out the deep survey, with work starting in early June.
The survey, in the fields along Route Isabelle opposite the public entrance to the Foulon Cemetery, will be conducted to a depth of up to 12m, deeper than the previous survey carried out in 2019.
Emergency Planning Officer, Kevin Murphy said the survey is expected to cover the entire area the ordnance could be located in.
“We are pleased to be able to have appointed 6 Alpha Associates to conduct this thorough survey, which we expect to tell us whether this ordnance is located under the Route Isabelle fields, and if so, where it is, and how best to proceed. We’ve kept our Military Liaison Officer abreast of the situation and they continue to support our decision making. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has cooperated with us in preparing for this work to take place.”