BBC Radio Guernsey

Repairs need to be carried out on an Alderney ferry, the boss of Channel Seaways says.

The Spike Islander has been taken to the UK to have a new engine fitted after a mechanical failure at a time when Alderney is receiving higher demand for visitors from Guernsey.

Bruno Kay-Mouat said that, because of this increase in use, another vessel had been chartered for the route and the service was continuing.

Image source, Dylan Ray

BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey Police have launched a campaign to remind islanders of the importance of road safety out of lockdown.

Officers said with phase five of the Covid-19 exit strategy now under way, roads would become considerably busier than they had been in the last few months.

Road users have been told they needed to walk, cycle, or drive in a safe and responsible manner.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Air passengers to the Isle of Man from Guernsey will still be expected to provide some health information upon arriving, despite a new travel agreement, the Isle of Man's chief minister has said

The island has made allowances to encourage planes from Guernsey to land after an "air bridge" was been announced between the two Crown Dependencies, with flights due to start in July.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said despite matching Guernsey's reduced costs, officials still expected to ask some health questions.

BBC Radio Guernsey

The Guernsey Disability Alliance is relieved anti-discrimination legislation will soon be debated by the States, members say.

The policy was due to be discussed earlier this year before the Covid-19 pandemic put a delay on discussions by deputies.

Karen Blanchford, from the group, said despite being happy the debate was going ahead, more work was still needed.

She said: "Our members have been waiting a long time for this. The debate is taking place and we've more support, but this isn't a slam-dunk yet."

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Image source, Dylan Ray

Alderney's Little Ferry has been lifted out of the water before being taken to the UK for repairs.

A charter boat is covering its sailings between Guernsey and Alderney.

The Little Ferry Company apologised and thanked customers for their messages of support.

Image source, Dylan Ray

BBC Radio Guernsey

An air bridge between Guernsey and the Isle of Man could be a boost for local businesses, according to a member of the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce.

From next month, flights will start between the two Crown Dependencies without the need for self-isolation on arrival.

Alan Sillett, head of the chamber's hospitality subsector, said he had hopes for businesses from this connection.

He hopes there would be "hopefully some influx of visitors".

He added: "We should also support it as an island and be curious, with us visiting in the other direction."

BBC Radio Guernsey

The impact of coronavirus on Guernsey could be examined at a series of public meetings next month.

The President of the Scrutiny Management Committee, Chris Green, has written to several senior committees to ask them to take part.

While the full impact of Covid-19 is difficult to properly gauge, Deputy Green said he believed the hearings would go some way to making it clearer.

He wants to put on several public hearings to look at the financial fallout of the pandemic, plus its effects on people's mental health and law and order.

Mr Green said that July was the right time to hold hearings as data was becoming available that would indicate long-term trends.

He said he had written to the Policy and Resources, Health and Social Care and Home Affairs committees to see if they were on board with these hearings, but was yet to get confirmation.

Andrew Segal
BBC News

Image source, St Anne's School

Staff and pupils at Alderney's St Anne's School are celebrating achieving plastic-free school status.

The status was awarded by the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage after the school met a set of objectives, including holding "trash mobs' at the school site, at local beaches and in the wider island during activities week to remove plastic and litter from the community.

Students also lobby government and companies to ask them what they were doing about the amount of plastic found discarded; stop using plastic milk and water bottles and reduce the amount of plastic in lunch boxes.

In a letter to parents, head teacher Martin Winward said students had "made a real impression and it is hoped this will continue to inspire us all to be 'plastic' aware".

He added: "There is still more to do and we will continue our work to help keep our school site and local community as plastic free as possible."

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Aurigny's jet is taking to the skies around Guernsey on Wednesday and Thursday and may be seen doing circuits of the island, the airline says.

Staff said all of the fleet had been kept operational throughout the pandemic and the flights of the Embraer jet were "another example of the airline being business ready for when more people want to travel as the bailiwick moves towards phase six" of its Covid-19 lockdown exit.

"It is important for Aurigny to retain the ability to keep our pilots and crew recent for when we can commence services fully again," the airline said.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Questions will need to be answered about the future position of Aurigny by the States, according to a senior deputy.

In September, the company announced losses of £7.6m for the year, about £3m higher than previously forecast. But end-of-year figures show the airline received a £9.7m bailout from the States.

Aurigny said the losses were, in the main, down to erratic market conditions caused by Guernsey's open skies policy and the introduction of subsidised routes by competitors.

Deputy Gavin St Pier said he accepted the States had control of the policies that had affected Aurigny and said questions needed to be asked about whether the States saw Aurigny as only providing a lifeline route, or operating much more than that.

He said: "These are the policy choices which government has, and we need to understand the consequences of choices in terms of the impact on Aurigny as a state-owned asset and public support. These are questions that need the answer."

BBC Radio Guernsey

Three ferry operators have been approached by a councillor in the UK to explore the resurrection of a ferry link between Guernsey and Weymouth, it is understood.

Condor, which used to operate the route, Brittany Ferries and Red Funnel have all been asked to discuss the project.

Condor did not disclose whether it had agreed to talk to Councillor Jan Bergman about his ideas, but said it always had long-term ambitions to remain at Weymouth before a lack of funding at the port saw it stop operating the route in 2015.

Brittany Ferries, which became a key shareholder in Condor earlier this year, has agreed to attend a meeting in September to entertain discussions, and said other operators had been invited as well.

Red Funnel said it was happy to have "high level discussions" to understand Weymouth Council's future port plans, but added it was yet to speak in-depth with Mr Bergman.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey Water has started a new campaign to stop islanders pouring fat down sinks and flushing wet wipes down toilets.

It said such waste products put a great strain on the sewage system and pipes and pumps could block.

General Manager of Guernsey Water Steve Langlois said that, while the island did not have the same same scale of so-called fatbergs as the UK - one measuring 210ft-long was found blocking a sewer in a seaside town in Devon last year - there were issues locally.

He said: "We do have have problems on our own local scale and we're really keen for people to do their bit to prevent these."

Losses suffered by Aurigny rose again last year, States accounts have revealed.

The States-owned airline cost taxpayers £9.7m, up from earlier projections and up on the losses occured in 2018 and 2017, which were £4.4m and £5.2m respectively.

In the budget for last year Aurigny had been expected to make a £4.4m loss, but in September it was predicting a 73% rise in that figure to £7.6m and the accounts show it's actual losses in 2019 were £9.7m.

In October the airline was forecasting a 2020 loss of more than £9m. Obviously that estimate does not include the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, Aurigny

BBC Radio Guernsey

The week ending 30 May saw the largest number of people ever registered in Guernsey as "wholly unemployed", the latest States' unemployment bulletin has said, external.

The figures said 1,631 people, or 5.2% of the workforce, were out of work.

That was after 497 people were registered as wholly unemployed at the end of March 2020, which, at that point, had been "the highest since records began in 2007", the States said.

The States said the bulletin was "a special publication" produced using data from the Committee for Employment & Social Security "to provide more comprehensive information on unemployment trends than would typically be published".

It added that the figures "may be overstated relative to what they might have been if calculated under normal circumstances" because of people applying for benefits after their work had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Image source, States of Guernsey

The headline figure of 1,631 was revealed last week with the breakdown released on Monday.

Aurigny's chief executive has suggested establishing new flights to the Isle of Man would help the hospitality and tourism sectors in both jurisdictions.

Mark Darby said: "I'm sure there's a demand from people in the Isle of Man to go somewhere different, as there is here.

"We've got really unlimited availability of aircraft and crew if the demand is there."

There have been no scheduled flights between the two Crown Dependencies since 2013.

At press conference on Friday and Tuesday Guernsey's most senior politician Gavin St Pier confirmed the plans were under discussion.

The president of the Committee for Policy and Resources said both governments supported the idea "on a political level", but the practicality of the move remained under consideration.

Image source, Aurigny

Guernsey's States-owned airline has revealed it is working on setting up "air bridge" links between the island and the Isle of Man this summer.

Aurigny chief executive Mark Darby said flights were likely to be "a couple of times a week" from late July.

He confirmed both governments need to approve the link before it begins.

Mr Darby said flights should be put on at a "reasonable cost" if they can get help from both governments over fees and charges.

Image source, Jonathan Le Ray

Guernsey has had no cases of coronavirus for 55 days and ended social distancing on 20 June.

The Isle of Man also has no active cases of Covid-19 and ended social distancing five days earlier, becoming the first place in the British Isles to do so.

Both jurisdictions currently have a 14-day self-isolation period for new arrivals, however, Guernsey has announced a pilot scheme allowing people out after one week if they test negative.

Mr Darby confirmed they had "explored various possibilities" of new destinations, but "very few" jurisdictions are in a similar coronavirus situation to Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

BBC Radio Guernsey

A number of vessels entering the Bailiwick of Guernsey's waters have been turned away by coastguards and law enforcement as part of work to proactively monitor borders, officials have said.

Guernsey Harbours said a number of private pleasure vessels from outside the bailiwick had sought permission to enter local waters but were turned away, while the Guernsey Border Agency (GBA) said it had seen a slight increase in the amount of private vessels arriving.

The GBA said it was ensuring that every person entering the bailiwick was met on arrival, served a mandatory self-isolation notice, and contact details were obtained.

Anyone arriving in the bailiwick from anywhere in the world has to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, Covid-19 regulations say, external.

The agency said it was also asking islanders to get in contact if they saw any non-local vessels attempting to land passengers in locations other than a main port.

Guernsey Press

A community effort has continued restoration of Le Guet, with native trees being planted and an all-weather walkway installed as part of a broader plan aimed at increasing biodiversity, external.

The States has begun general debate on proposals to "modernise Guernsey's abortion law, after more than two days spent on amendments.

Deputies had to carry over the debate to this week, after they ran out of time last week.

Overall, 11 amendments were rejected by the States, including several proposals to reduce the proposed 24-week gestational time limit to between 16 and 22 weeks.