Gunsite Seawall, Jersey Environmental Statement
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GUNSITE SEAWALL, JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT SEPTEMBER 2015 GUNSITE SEAWALL, JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Transport and Technical Services, States of Jersey Project no: 3512000H-HHE Date: September 2015 – WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff The Forum Barnfield Road Exeter EX1 1QR Tel: 01392 229700 www.wspgroup.com www.pbworld.com Q U A L I T Y MANAGEMENT ISSUE/REVISION FIRST ISSUE REVISION 1 REVISION 2 REVISION 3 Remarks Date 11/09/2015 Prepared by Claire Beard Signature Checked by Amy Hallam Signature Authorised by Marcus Wood Signature Project number 3512000H-HHE Report number File reference ii PRODUCTION TEAM CLIENT Manager, Highways and Kevin Armstrong Infrastructure WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF Environmental Consultant Claire Beard Principal Town Planner Amy Hallam Technical Director Marcus Wood Gunsite Seawall, Jersey WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Transport and Technical Services, States of Jersey Project No 3512000H-HHE September 2015 Click here to enter text. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................1 1.1 BACKGROUND.................................................................................................. 1 1.2 PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT ........................................................................... 1 2 SITE AND SURROUNDINGS .......................................................2 2.1 ST HELIER ......................................................................................................... 2 2.2 ST AUBIN AND ST AUBIN’S BAY .................................................................... 2 2.3 BEAUMONT ....................................................................................................... 2 2.4 SITE .................................................................................................................... 2 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE SCHEME ...............................................5 3.1 FLOOD ALLEVIATION SCHEME ...................................................................... 5 4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ............................................. 10 4.1 ECOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 10 4.2 WATER ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................. 11 4.3 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL ............................................................................ 11 4.4 HERITAGE ....................................................................................................... 13 4.5 NOISE AND AIR QUALITY .............................................................................. 14 4.6 TRAFFIC ........................................................................................................... 14 4.7 CONTAMINATED LAND .................................................................................. 14 4.8 SOCIO-ECONOMICS ....................................................................................... 14 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................. 16 Gunsite Seawall, Jersey WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Transport and Technical Services, States of Jersey Project No 3512000H-HHE September 2015 iv FIGURES FIGURE 2-1 PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING CURRENT CONDITION OF SEAWALL .............. 4 FIGURE 3-1 PROPOSED CROSS SECTION ....................................................................... 5 FIGURE 3-2 PROPOSED FLOODGATE ............................................................................... 6 FIGURE 3-3 PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING OVERTOPPING OF SEAWALL .......................... 7 FIGURE 3-4 PHOTOGRAPH DEMONSTRATING FLOODING AS A RESULT OF OVERTOPPING ................................................................................... 8 FIGURE 3-5 FLOODING AT BEAUMONT JUNCTION ......................................................... 8 FIGURE 3-6 LIDAR SURVEY ................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF ABBREVIATION S SoJ States of Jersey ES Environmental Statement TTS Transport and Technical Services EIS Environmental Impact Statement AOD Above ordnance datum LiDAR Light Detection and Ranging ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management IWMP Integrated Water Management Plan HGV Heavy goods vehicle Gunsite Seawall, Jersey WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Transport and Technical Services, States of Jersey Project No 3512000H-HHE September 2015 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND 1.1.1 This Environmental Statement has been prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff on behalf of the States of Jersey (SoJ), in respect of the proposed flood alleviation improvements to the seawall at Gunsite Café, Beaumont, Jersey. 1.1.2 States of Jersey (SoJ) have identified the need to alleviate flooding which occurs at the Beaumont junction and La Route de la Haule. This comes after storms in January and February 2014 repeated the damage done to St Aubins and La Rue de Haule in 2008. 1.1.3 The primary cause of the flooding in 2014 was the overtopping of the sea wall to the east of the Gunsite Slip. The wall was originally part of the WW2 German military defences built not to stop the sea, but as a defence against seaborne invasion. The wall is low and has a rounded top, which does not stop water overtopping during a storm at high spring tides. 1.1.4 Flooding at the Beaumont junction has caused damage to a number of residential and commercial properties. Furthermore there is no separate surface water drainage system in the area and any seawater reaching the Beaumont area must be pumped to the sewage treatment plant. 1.2 PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT 1.2.1 This Environmental Statement (ES) presents the findings from a desk based study and a site visit on 25th August 2015. It considers the environmental impact the proposed food alleviation scheme will have. Section 3 describes the sea wall site and the surrounding area. Section 4 describes the proposed flood alleviation scheme. Section 5 sets out the assessment of each of the topics relevant to the proposed scheme. Section 6 provides a summary and conclusion. 1.3 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK 1.3.1 Article 13 (1) of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 relates to the environmental impact of proposed development. It requires the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in conjunction with an application for planning permission under two circumstances as follows: for development that falls within a class of development prescribed for the purpose of this sub-paragraph; or Where the Minister is satisfied that, if the proposed development were to be carried out, it would be likely to have a significant effect on the environment of Jersey or elsewhere. 1.3.2 Article 2 of the Planning and Building (Environmental Impact) (Jersey) Order 2006 provides that proposals for development specified within Column 1 of Schedule 1 to the Order (apart from those circumstances under which the qualifying criteria defined within Column 2 are not achieved) comprises ‘prescribed development’ for which an EIS will be required under the provisions of Article 13(a) of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 referred to above. 1.3.3 The proposed works for the flood alleviation scheme do not fall within Column 1 of Schedule 1 to the Order, and are therefore not classed as ‘prescribed development’. As such a full EIS is not required for this scheme. Gunsite Seawall, Jersey WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Transport and Technical Services, States of Jersey Project No 3512000H-HHE September 2015 2 2 SITE AND SURROUNDINGS 2.1 ST HELIER 2.1.1 The proposed works are located approximately 4.5 km from St Helier. 2.1.2 St Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 33,500, approximately 34.2% of the total population of Jersey. 2.1.3 The Port of Jersey is located in St Helier with 98.6% of all goods entering Jersey via the port. 2.1.4 La Collette waste facility is located in St Helier, and the likely receptor of any waste materials resulting from the construction of the proposed scheme. 2.1.5 The A1 and A2 coastal roads link St Helier with St Aubin and provide the main commuter route linking Jersey Airport and St Helier. 2.2 ST AUBIN AND ST AUBIN’S BAY 2.2.1 St Aubin is at the western end of St Aubin's Bay, opposite St Helier to the east, and has the island's second largest harbour and town. The proposed scheme is located approximately 1.5km to the east of St Aubin. 2.2.2 St Aubin's Bay covers the central part of Jersey's south coast and has a long sweep of unbroken sandy beach from St Helier Harbour to St Aubin's Harbour. 2.2.3 Only the highest of tides cover all of the sand and at low tide the sea retreats approximately 300 metres to open up an expanse of beach. 2.3 BEAUMONT 2.3.1 Beaumont is located on the southern coastline of the parish of St Peter, Jersey and is approximately 4.5km from St Helier, and 1.5km from St Aubin. 2.3.2 Beaumont is located where the southern end of La Route de Beaumont (A12) and La Route de la Haule (A1) join. 2.3.3 The area comprises residential development and small to medium commercial units. There are numerous fields surrounding the urban development within the area which are separated by trees and hedgerows. 2.3.4 Beaumont leads onto the adjacent south facing beach via access points in the existing sea wall. 2.3.5 There are two watercourses (unnamed) that run south through the area under La Route de la Haule (A1) and drain into the sea. 2.4 SITE 2.4.1 The site (Figure 2.1) currently