Neighbours raise concerns over planned Jersey sewage tank

Jersey's government has given the go-ahead for a large underground sewage and storm water storage tank on farmland in the west of the island.The underground container is due take 18 months to complete, with work expected to start in September.Infrastructure and Environment, which is in charge of the project, said new homes could not be built and the existing waste and water system was at risk of failing without the upgrade.Residents expressed concern deep underground work could destabilise homes while noise and odours from the tank would be unpleasant.
Duncan Berry, from Infrastructure and Environment, said: "This is a pinch point, and with climate change, and if we put more houses on, it means that is a point where we will get more flooding."If we get high flows during heavy rainfall, it will come out on to the roads [and] sewers will surcharge."It will ultimately mean that people cannot flush their toilets in the area."He said it was unlikely waste stored in the tank would cause unpleasant odours because it would be transferred to treatment works quickly.The storage tank would not use the whole site and the rest of the field would be returned to local farmers, he added.
Twenty residents co-signed a statement explaining why they were not happy with the plans.
Guy Thompson said residents could have been better informed about what was planned."We understand that for the benefit of Jersey as a whole, these tanks need to go in places, but our argument as residents here is, why do they have to go in a field that is so close to people's houses?"They are going to have to drill down 25 to 30 metres deep in order to put these tanks in and, on top of that, they have not been able to show us exactly how it is going to look or what is going to happen."We do not really understand why it has been chosen here. "We really do not believe that other sites have been considered properly."
'Big concern'
Carol Gay, whose home overlooks the site, said she was worried about what the development would involve."We are concerned about the fact it is going underground, 24 metres, if not more," she said."This is a big development that is quite a big concern."Not knowing how it is being built, who is building it or anything like that."I think we need to have a lot more input in this."
Mr Berry said the sewerage and water system had suffered from significant underinvestment and, without the storage tank, affordable homes could not be built.The Bridging Island Plan, which sets out how best to meet the island's housing needs, strengthen the economy and protect the environment, earmarked several fields in the west of the island to build between 217 and 277 affordable homes.

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