Latest News from Guernsey

A Safe route to St. Sampson's High and Le Murier School

 Due to a re-organisation of secondary education in Guernsey the Secondary School in St. Peter Port (Guernsey's major Town) closed in July 2009.  Students have been distributed between two schools rebranded as High Schools. 

 When Guernsey's Environment Department (with whom we had been working) refused to work in partnership with us to develop this beautiful cross country route we decided to go it alone and try to raise the necessary funds to develop the one mile route. 

 The new schools have been built on an old vinery site next to Guernsey's Prison - not an ideal location for a school!  In order to develop a route into the back of the new school campus we need to link a footpath and a green lane to a pathway through a private vinery site which is sandwiched between the Prison and the new school campus. 

 It is very rare to find a landowner who is willing to allow a pathway through his land, but after a lot of hard work we managed to strike a deal with a landowner to rent a route through his 8 acre site.  The next hurdle was to gain planning permission to develop the pathway.  We needed to build earth banks to delineate the route, put in fencing and cladding to a large set of glasshouses to guard against flying glass in high winds.  The whole disused vinery site in the vicinity of the path needed to be made completely safe for students.

Planning permission was given in December 2009. 

 Meanwhile we needed to raise money for the project.  Funds were needed to pay for the safety measures within the vinery site, to upgrade a part of the green lane which floods badly in winter, and to pay the landowner for the pathway - an annual rental fee which needs to be sustainable to ensure the route will benefit students for generations to come.  It was a tall order and we are still struggling to raise sufficient funds.  However, Guernsey businesses have been very generous in their support and we are getting there.

 Our goal is to open up the safe route in September 2010. 

 We spent six months researching the area in order to investigate rights of way and ownerships of the tracks.  We have faced major opposition from some landowners in the area - even though the route does not pass any residential properties.  Letters to the Press have argued that our route is unsafe because it is too isolated.    The closeness of the path to the Prison has also been highlighted as a danger and a security risk.  The decision to build the schools next to the Prison is something that Guernsey will I am sure regret in the future.

 Guernsey's roads are very narrow and congested - and there is a terrible car culture in this prosperous island.  Pavements (where they exist) are also very narrow.  Commercial  vehicles and large 4x4's are constantly driving on them.  In comparison our beautiful cross country route is bordered by banks of wild flowers and fields where cattle and horses graze. 

 We could have given up on many occasions - each hurdle we jumped was replaced with another one.  But we have persevered and are almost there.

 On Sunday July 11th we are undertaking a major fund raiser called The Living Streets Tranquillity Walk.  This is an 8 mile walking challenge from St. Peter Port to L'Eree on the west coast of the island.  The route uses only lanes and Guernsey's Ruettes Tranquilles.  It takes about 3 hours and goes through Guernsey's beautiful countryside right across the centre of the island.  We are hoping that islanders will show their support for our green lane project by joining us so that we can raise a large sum of money. (See photo below).

 We also hope that St. Peter Port parents will not be put off by the negative press and that they will judge for themselves whether the green lane route is a safer option for their children's journey to school.

 Pat Wisher

July 2010