Sewage spills a 'high risk' at sea fort

There is a "high risk" of sewage spills at a 16th Century Jersey sea fort, a planning application has said.

The application, by the States of Jersey, for upgrades at St Aubin's Fort has been lodged to replace an outdated electrical pumping station - due to the current system not having any way of alerting authorities if there is a problem.

Since it was built 400 years ago, the fort - which is managed by the States on behalf of the public - has been used for coastal defence, a German military bunker, and now for various water sports. There is also accommodation.

If approved, officers want a new unit to be installed, which would continually monitor the system and send messages about any failures.

The new control panel would be built on a concrete plinth designed to blend in with the German bunker.

Workers would also need to dig trenches and a pit for the cables and other equipment.

"The existing electrical control system for the sewage pumping station has reached the end of its serviceable life and is also non-compliant with the Electricity at Work Regulations (1989) in several aspects," the application reads.

"The existing control panel currently has no means to notify persons of failures of the pumping station and no simple method to add in this functionality.

"This means there is a high risk of sewage spills at St Aubin's Fort," it said.

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