Dredging works at St. Aubins

2026.09.08

5.11   Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade of the Minister for the Environment regarding the

materials dredged from St. Aubin's Harbour and deposited on the foreshore between St. Aubin's Fort and the St. Aubin's Yacht Club (OQ.78/2026).

Will the Minister advise what concerns, if any, have been raised with her regarding the materials dredged from St. Aubin's Harbour and deposited on the foreshore between St. Aubin's Fort and the St. Aubin's Yacht Club?

Senator M.R. Le Hegarat (The Minister for the Environment):

I thank the Deputy for the question. I note that, having been copied into the letter on the issue, you will be aware, as I am, of the concerns raised on behalf of 24 residents. For the benefit of the Assembly the issues raised to me, Infrastructure and Environment Officers and Ports of Jersey focus on the deposit of material dredged from St. Aubin's Harbour to the foreshore by contractors on behalf of Ports of Jersey. The letter raises concerns of impacts on protected habitats, wildlife and public safety. The deposition of spoil dredged from the harbour for navigation was deposited under a Food and Environmental Protection Act licence issued by my department. This has been a regular practice for many years that has not raised issues in the past. On this occasion it is because it was identified that the normal place of depositing the spoil that was used in previous years had the potential of detrimental impact on the environment. Where they deposited it in the past the seagrass was flourishing; therefore, another site had to be used. I have asked our Marine Resources officer to review the matter alongside colleagues from Ports of Jersey. Officers will look to meet with the complainants in the coming days and review the situation before reporting back to me so a course of action can be decided.

5.11.1 Deputy M. Tadier :

If I can thank the Minister initially for taking the matter on; I know she has been copied into the correspondence. For example, there are concerns about where the sludge, as I would call it, because it is a very clayey material, ends up, for example, on the causeway to St. Aubin's Fort and it seems to have caused issues for people wanting to cross over to that area, as well as other potential impacts on the beach there. Could I ask the Minister, when it comes to the relationship between her role and Ports of Jersey, who regulates Ports of Jersey when these kind of issues are related? Or does she believe that she and Ports of Jersey are working hand-in-glove on this?

Senator M.R. Le Hegarat :

As I said, when the Ports want to dredge the harbour, therefore, a licence is granted by my department. It is unfortunate that on this occasion ... as I said, there have been a number of years; the licence was issued in March of 2024 and expired in May of this year. Obviously where they had been depositing the spoil in the last 2 years it had not been a problem. Unfortunately, on this particular occasion this has been identified. I think it will be important moving forward that when they are going to dredge and when they are going to deposit, there is correspondence. There are parts of the licence which will tell them that they have to notify the department when they are going to do the dredging. There are a specific amount of days as to which they are allowed to dredge and they need to notify the department. So I think, having identified this issue on this occasion, I am quite confident that my department, if a new licence is requested, that those recommendations will be put in and that moving forward this will not happen again or hopefully it should not.