Some Deputies are questioning the power of the island’s Health and Safety Executive, saying they understand why so many people are frustrated over the proposed removal of the diving board at La Vallette.
When the matter was first made public by prominent open water swimmer Adrian Sarchet on Friday afternoon, the States was in session.
Deputy Neil Inder and Lindsey de Sausmarez have separately told Express that they and their fellow politicians immediately started receiving emails protesting against the diving board’s planned removal.
Deputy Inder said it was the first he and many other deputies had heard about the situation.
“We were in the States on Friday afternoon when a lot of emails started piling in. Something about La Vallette, something about La Vallette…I clicked on a couple and next thing we find is that, effectively, the diving board is being taken away.”
At 16:35 on Friday afternoon, Deputy Mark Helyar took to Facebook to apologise for not replying to everyone’s emails on the topic.
“There are too many emails to respond,” he wrote, “so for the record, removing the diving board at the bathing pools is shameful. It’s just plain embarrassing.”
Deputy Helyar – who is a lawyer by profession – then spent the weekend reading up on the laws surrounding the situation and shared his findings via Facebook.
Both Deputies Helyar and Inder have since questioned whether the Health and Safety Executive – who inspected the diving platform and said it needed to be removed – has acted reasonably.
“Have these guys got nothing better to do?” asked Deputy Inder. “I mean, seriously, has the Health and Safety Executive, got nothing better to do?”
There has been a postponement to the planned removal of the diving board, while talks continue over how it can be saved permanently.
That has to be agreed within a few weeks or it will be coming down, said E&I President, Deputy de Sausmarez.
“None of us want to see the platform removed unless it is absolutely necessary. However, we recognise that we have a responsibility to act with urgency in response to the matters that the prohibition notice has raised,” she said.
Deputy de Sausmarez was aware of the situation around the diving board before it became public on Friday, but she said they will continue to work with others to try and save it.
“In its role as landlord, the Committee has explored a wide range of options to determine how the removal of the platform can be avoided, but thanks to the offers of help and support, new avenues have potentially now become available. We will use this additional time to work with community representatives to ensure all viable alternatives are fully examined. As a keen swimmer myself, I’m extremely keen – like so many others – to find a solution that will mean the diving platform can remain in place for people to safely enjoy.”
Referencing some of the suggestions that have been made regarding clearing the stones from the bottom of the Ladies’ Pool – which get washed over the sea wall and mean the pool’s depth is reduced – Deputy de Sausmarez confirmed that anyone looking to do so would need a licence from the States.
“There has been some suggestion that licensing is a blocker to dredging the Pool. This is not correct,” she said.
“While a license is required under law for depositing quantities of debris using diggers and/or other vehicles from the pool onto the seabed, it’s a straightforward process that has never proved to be a barrier previously, such as when the Ladies’ Pool was renovated in 2022.”
Deputy Inder said the whole situation around the diving board appears to be an overreach of the HSE.
While the platform at La Vallette is deemed a health and safety risk, he pointed out there is nothing to stop people jumping off rocks anywhere around the island, or off the nearby Havelet Wall.
He’s prepared to challenge the prohibition notice in the States to try and save the diving board if necessary.
“I would also consider, depending what happens over this, and I have to test it, but I would consider working with a couple of people to do this in the States, to get this done. And if it means the removal of the HSE, I’m prepared to do it, because this is absolutely ridiculous.”
He added: “This is why Guernsey people get annoyed.
“Out of the blue for no apparent reason, an over regulated state, one person or one group of people decides today’s the day I’m gonna take the diving board down. It’s nonsense.
“And don’t forget, it’s the same committee that thought it was okay to send mountain bikes along the cliff paths. That’s not a bad thing, but there’s no consistency here.”