Latest news with #Sarchet
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Diving board removal paused to explore options
Plans to remove the diving board from Guernsey's La Vallette Bathing Pools have been temporarily halted. On Friday, the the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served a prohibition notice in relation to the board, following reports of incidents and near misses. Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of the Committee for Environment and Infrastructure, said the board would "not be removed this week" as originally planned. She said: "We have managed to work with the HSE, who have agreed to give us more time to work with members of the community to explore alternative options." The HSE said the depth of the water under the platform fell below international standards and it should be removed. It said the maximum depth of the water below the diving platform was 2.75m (9ft) which did not meet the 3.2m (10.5ft) minimum depth required by the World Aquatics and British Standards. Adrian Sarchet, known as the Sea Donkey, believes the board is an "iconic piece of heritage" and he started a campaign to save it. Mr Sarchet said as a result of the meeting with De Sausmarez, there was now a "plan of action". He said: "The first part of that plan is a short stay of execution on the removal of the diving board. "It will not be removed next week. "The second part of the plan is for a small committee... to try to find a solution which satisfies all stakeholders. "It is not a done deal that the diving board will stay." Mr Sarchet said the level of public engagement on the matter had "opened up opportunities worth exploring that simply weren't there before". Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Calls to save diving board after removal notice The States of Guernsey
BBC News
09-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Guernsey bathing pools diving board removal paused
Plans to remove the diving board from Guernsey's La Vallette Bathing Pools have been temporarily Friday, the the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served a prohibition notice in relation to the board, following reports of incidents and near Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of the Committee for Environment and Infrastructure, said the board would "not be removed this week" as originally said: "We have managed to work with the HSE, who have agreed to give us more time to work with members of the community to explore alternative options." The HSE said the depth of the water under the platform fell below international standards and it should be said the maximum depth of the water below the diving platform was 2.75m (9ft) which did not meet the 3.2m (10.5ft) minimum depth required by the World Aquatics and British Standards. Adrian Sarchet, known as the Sea Donkey, believes the board is an "iconic piece of heritage" and he started a campaign to save Sarchet said as a result of the meeting with De Sausmarez, there was now a "plan of action".He said: "The first part of that plan is a short stay of execution on the removal of the diving board."It will not be removed next week."The second part of the plan is for a small committee... to try to find a solution which satisfies all stakeholders."It is not a done deal that the diving board will stay."Mr Sarchet said the level of public engagement on the matter had "opened up opportunities worth exploring that simply weren't there before".
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Calls to save diving board after removal notice
An open water swimmer is among those campaigning to save a public diving board in Guernsey after the announcement of its removal due to safety concerns. Adrian Sarchet, known as the Sea Donkey, has called for members of the public to show support for the "iconic piece of heritage" at La Vallette Bathing Pools. The government said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had served a prohibition notice in relation to the diving board following reports of incidents and near misses. The HSE said the depth of the water under the platform fell below international standards and as a result it would have to be removed. It said the maximum depth of the water below the diving platform was 2.75m (9ft) which did not meet the 3.2m (10.5ft) minimum depth required by the World Aquatics and British Standards. The States of Guernsey said it considered increasing the depth of the pool, but the estimated £1m cost to do so was "prohibitive". It added: "Even if work was carried out to increase the depth of the pool, regulations from World Aquatics, the UK Health and Safety Executive and Swim England also state that users of any diving platform should be supervised at all times and that the diving area should be segregated from other swimmers. "Other options were considered including reducing its height, however, again this would still require continual supervision by lifeguards and segregation of the diving area, which was also considered to be prohibitive due to the cost of hiring the necessary staff." Mr Sarchet said he understood the board would be removed on Tuesday 11 February. He said "there was a lack of transparency" around the decision after only being made aware of the plans on Thursday. "I hope we can encourage HSE or at least the politicians they answer to, to postpone the planned removal of the diving board on Tuesday 11 February and to engage with the public on the perceived risks and potential solutions that do not involve the destruction of our shared heritage," Mr Sarchet said. HSE chief officer Robin Gonard said: "In light of the assessment we carried out, our decision was that immediate action needs to be taken to ensure compliance with modern safety standards to protect members of our community by avoiding the risk of serious injury or worse." Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Guernsey Bathing Pools win top architecture award Jersey officials visit Guernsey bathing pools Annual sea swim raising funds for charity States of Guernsey
BBC News
08-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Sea Donkey urges saving of Guernsey bathing pools diving board
An open water swimmer is among those campaigning to save a public diving board in Guernsey after the announcement of its removal due to safety Sarchet, known as the Sea Donkey, has called for members of the public to show support for the "iconic piece of heritage" at La Vallette Bathing government said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had served a prohibition notice in relation to the diving board following reports of incidents and near HSE said the depth of the water under the platform fell below international standards and as a result it would have to be removed. 'Prohibitive' measures It said the maximum depth of the water below the diving platform was 2.75m (9ft) which did not meet the 3.2m (10.5ft) minimum depth required by the World Aquatics and British States of Guernsey said it considered increasing the depth of the pool, but the estimated £1m cost to do so was "prohibitive".It added: "Even if work was carried out to increase the depth of the pool, regulations from World Aquatics, the UK Health and Safety Executive and Swim England also state that users of any diving platform should be supervised at all times and that the diving area should be segregated from other swimmers. "Other options were considered including reducing its height, however, again this would still require continual supervision by lifeguards and segregation of the diving area, which was also considered to be prohibitive due to the cost of hiring the necessary staff." 'Lack of transparency' Mr Sarchet said he understood the board would be removed on Tuesday 11 said "there was a lack of transparency" around the decision after only being made aware of the plans on Thursday."I hope we can encourage HSE or at least the politicians they answer to, to postpone the planned removal of the diving board on Tuesday 11 February and to engage with the public on the perceived risks and potential solutions that do not involve the destruction of our shared heritage," Mr Sarchet chief officer Robin Gonard said: "In light of the assessment we carried out, our decision was that immediate action needs to be taken to ensure compliance with modern safety standards to protect members of our community by avoiding the risk of serious injury or worse."
