Efforts to address the dangers posed by the deteriorating Victoria Marine Lake and develop “longer-term solutions” for the site are being progressed “as a matter of priority”, according to the new Infrastructure Minister.
Deputy Jonathan Renouf again urged the public to obey the safety warnings not to swim in, enter, or walk around the structure – where a child was pulled through a gap in the seawall and swept into the sea earlier this summer.
New signs as well as concrete blocks, ropes and marker floats were installed following the incident, which Deputy Renouf had previously highlighted “could have been far more serious” and “potentially fatal”.
Additional work is being undertaken as a matter of priority to consider how we can further reduce the risk associated with the structure and to develop longer-term solutions for the site
Infrastructure Minister Jonathan Renouf
In a further update this week in response to a written question from Deputy Lyndsay Feltham, the minister stated that the placing of the warnings “has been validated by an Infrastructure and Environment health and safety assessment of the content and location as being effective”.
“The dangers of swimming in or near the structure, or walking around the structure, are clearly and now more explicitly identified,” Deputy Renouf said.
“I once again urge the public to comply with these notices in the interest of safety.”
He noted that the measures in place were intended to “draw attention to the significant danger of swimming in or near the structure”.
Deputy Renouf added that additional work was being undertaken “as a matter of priority” to consider how the risks associated with the site could be reduced “and to develop longer-term solutions”.
The update comes not long after St Helier Constable Inna Gardiner renewed calls for the Victoria Marine Lake to be repaired.
“The message from our community has always been clear: this is a much-loved place where generations of islanders, and visitors to Jersey, have enjoyed swimming for more than a century,” she stated.
“This is not about politics – it is about public safety and protecting an important part of our community heritage.”
