truthseeker | Sat 27th March 2010
what has not been discussed in open forum as far as i am aware is that there will have been £15 million pounds odd spent on infrastructure projects(quay,connaught,Water etc) on the Island and yet as far as i am aware not one new long term job has been created on the Island- i am not talking about the local workforce employed on these contracts but the economic impact of this huge capital outlay.
This really needs to be thought about if Alderney is to ever have a vibrant economy(again).

truthseeker | Thu 25th March 2010
I enjoy reading all these comments but have to point out the obvious ! If everyone local who worked down the harbour knew about the hole in the quay that has caused much of the cost overun-and the engineers employed to report on the structure missed it !! then by implication NOBODY local of all the dozens of people that now claim insiders knowledge of the hole- bothered to read the engineers report and point out the error even though many of them were either states members or harbour area employees or bidders on parts of the contract-so who is to blame or am i missing something here ???

It reminds me of the Danish resistance it was a lot larger after the war than during it !!!

gizmo | Tue 1st December 2009
if i can recall the commercial quay had sheet piling done to it in 1982????????, as it is now 2009 to my reckoning that would add up to a lifespan of 27yrs.
the new block wall i am led to believe has a lifespan of 60yrs.

to sheet pile around the quay as it was would have been a cheaper option by half????????

i don't think so if you take into account that you could not pile it from the bank it would mean bringing in a jack leg barge and how do you drive steel piles through the bedrock, answer you cannot, so that would mean bringing in another barge to drill the rock in front of the piling barge, my opinion is sheet piling would maybe shave off about 3 million of the current project value.
so the way i look at it for another 3 million we have an extra 33 yrs of life out of the quay.

i have to agree with island girl as well i think mr tugby's nightmares are sour grapes that he has not got the work.

just one last point and you can check it out on a website if you like but sheet piling in a marine enviroment will only come with a maximum of a 30 yr lifespan.

gizzy

DayDream Believer | Sat 21st November 2009
Just to clarify my last comments, it was a simple spelling mistake, i didn't really mean you need to 'attact' the tourists.(it was late when i wrote it and i was tired)

Mind you having said that!!!!

Bluejacket | Sat 21st November 2009
We do so love complaining about life on this beautiful island of ours and its even better when we can moan about mainlanders; but for fairness we do need to take care with our facts. When work started on the quay's refurbishment the States had a limited budget so work was prioritised and concentrated on the part which was in the worst condition. Recently the States must have found additional funds and additional work is being carried out. The omission of this work from the original contract was not the result of any lack of survey only a lack of money.

As I have mentioned previously the 'overspend' was largely the result of items taken out of the contract to meet the budget constraint then being put back in again after the contract was awarded. Are Beckett Rankine responsible for adding the items back in? Well they could not possibly have done it unless they had been instructed to do so by their client. So yes the contract has cost more but we have also got more work done.

Island Girl you are right in saying we had no option but to renovate the quay although we could have done it much more cheaply by using steel sheet piles rather than concrete blockwork. The States, rightly to my mind, chose the more expensive blockwork design because it will provide a much longer life. As I remember it the choice of a blockwork rather than a sheet piled design was actively promoted by Quarryman.

Now that the quay is fixed the main concern in the harbour is the state of the breakwater where we are living on borrowed time. In 2003, for reasons I still cannot fathom, we turned down £29m of Guernsey's money to carry out a complete renovation of the breakwater together with a new secondary breakwater to protect the harbour from north easterlies. Since we refused the money it has been spent elsewhere. So if, or should I say when, the breakwater is next breached we cold well face a bill that will dwarf the cost of the works to the quay.

DayDream Believer | Fri 20th November 2009
If Alderney is to survive long term then it has to consider its tourism industry.
Lets be honest,Alderney needs more visitors than it gets. You need to attact the tourists, (not just like me that fell in love with the island after one visit and has returned ever since) but those that will visit for a day trip or overnight, and to vist the island is just too expensive. The more alternative ways you have to get to Alderney, and not getting stranded, the more you will attract visitors.
Alas, more tourism comes at a cost to the island, are you happy to pay that cost, at risk of losing the very charm of the island???
Island Girl, please stand for 'States' as soon as possible, Alderney needs people like you that actually care for their island.

Island Girl | Wed 18th November 2009
Mr.Quarry Man...............

Whilst I do agree with some of your points. I object to being written about as though I am the village idiot!!.
Of course The States haven't handled this project well by not doing a full survey on the quay before hand but,not to stick up for The States Of Alderney too much they had employed Beckett Rankine to do this and were clearly let down by their project management team and yes,there is a large overspend. Perhaps the blame should be portioned at Beckett Rankine's door and maybe some monies could be recouped that way to help fund the overspend ?

My point was that this project needed money spending on it as anyone local will tell you ( the mysterious void that appeared as been known about since Dave Allen was harbourmaster) and we will eventually end up with a user friendly, health and safety compliant quay for both local boat owners, tourists which the island desperately needs to pump money into the dwindling ecconomy and visiting cargo craft which provide us with our food, oil etc etc for the future.

And for your information Mr.Quarry Man I do care about paying over the odds for good and services very much and I certainly not a huge admirer of The States Of Alderney or The States Of Guernsey 's policy and spending. I am just a working local mother of two children who one day when my children are older will stand for States and do my bit for the community. I always vote and have done since I was 18 so I can proudly say I helped elect some of these States Members and boy ! did I get it wrong and I am glad I voted for them. I can critiscise the States and praise the States when praise is due because I care for my island . And we need more youngish people like me to do our bit by standing for The States and have a voice through forums like this We are quickly becoming an ageing population with more and more people coming to retire here because it is so lovely. You may not agree with what I had written but....... manners cost nothing !!

quarryman | Sat 14th November 2009
Island Girl has entirely missed the point of the debate. Perhaps she has just discovered what everyone over five years old knows about the functions of the commercial quay. The questions to answer are 1.has the project been well managed by the Sates and 2.has the cost been controlled. The answer to both questions is a resounding no. Full surveys were not carried out before the project started and costs have run out of control. Panic measures has seen a reduction of the original specification which simply means that we are paying more but getting less. Island Girl may not care if she pays twice the price for her goods and services. Or perhaps she is an admirer of the vast Guernsey overspends of recent years that we are all still paying for today. The rest of us however expect value for money.
When the quay is finshed it will no doubt serve the island well for many years. The States will no doubt trumpet it as a great success while ignoring the fact that we could, with good management, have acheived the same result for a much lower price and retained substancial funds for much needed projects elswhere on the island.

k9 | Wed 28th October 2009
Thank you both for your comments, we hope to come over next month and will in deed try to chat to as many people as possible. Pleased to hear you are both enjoying Island life, it was nice to hear from one established and one new Islander. Thanks again.

Doug | Wed 28th October 2009
K9 - Like you, I get fed up with the UK. Now recently living here in Alderney so far it is exactly what I was lead to expect.

Have been to a few evening functions and met plenty of amiable people with diverse interests.

As with all places I'm sure there are good and bad people but I've come across the latter as yet.

Was a lovely mild evening yesterday so locked up my office a little early and took a long walk home to watch the sunset from the cliffs.

Island Girl | Wed 28th October 2009
K9 - I don't think such a forum exsists perhaps something for you to organise if you move to our beautiful island ?!.
The natives are friendly and life is good !!. Just takes a little time to get used to a slower pace of life but, there is loads of things to do. We have many clubs for you to join from drama, W.I., golf , Rotary to cricket etc, etc bascically we are a "village" in the sea!!.
Next time you are here viewing property just ask around in either the hotel you are staying or even when you get your morning paper and people will help you to get a feel of what Island life is like.
My only words of advice are fit in gradually and don't try to change us - we are who we are and the Island is unique !!. You fit in with us not the other way round !! .

k9 | Mon 26th October 2009
My post is unrelated to this article, BUT I can't seem to find any forum from island people, possibly , my fault?, We are looking to move to the island and would appreciate feed back other than that offered by estate agents. We are quite "normal" people fed up with the rat race, looking for a nice place to live where we can fit in with the local people and enjoy a decent quality of life. Sorry if I have invaded your space on this link - but I seem to have a problem in finding a suitable site. I know that my e-mail will not be published but if there any sites you suggest would be suitable please post as comments. Thank you

Island Girl | Fri 23rd October 2009
As I have said before ......... the quay needed money spending on it. It would have been no good doing "half a job" !!!.
It is a lifeline for the island as I explained in a previous post on this site for ; Food, heating oil, Medi-Vacs with the lifeboat when it is too foggy to fly ,building supplies, consumer goods, livestock etc ,etc to arrive onto Alderney and it really does need to be fit for purpose for many years to come.
Maybe Mr.Tygby's nightmares are also caused a little bit by sour grapes as his firm are not doing the work on the project ????!!!!. And yes........ that comment is said with my tongue firmly in my cheek !!...............