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Jersey's heritage sites 'in trouble due to climate change'

BBC Mont Orgueil Castle above the small fishing port of Gorey on the east coast of JerseyBBC
Jersey Heritage worries its sites, including Mont Orgueil Castle, may be affected by "severe storm surges"

A "failure to understand threats from climate change" could lead to some of Jersey's oldest sites being lost, Jersey Heritage has warned.

It said coastline sites were being affected by an increase in severe weather conditions.

Heritage bosses said they had been worried about coastal erosion and climate change "for a number of years".

The States introduced a new heritage strategy in May, outlining its responsibilities to protect its sites.

Jersey Heritage maintenance manager Chris O'Connor said climate change and rising tides meant "we are suffering more severe storm surges in the winter months".

He said: "We're really worried that now we are going to start losing part of some very important history."

La Cotte gabion wall
La Cotte in St Brelade has a gabion wall enforced to protect "important artefacts"

Some heritage sites are covered in rock stabilisation netting, with the bottom of La Cotte in St Brelade protected by a gabion wall, which prevents "storm surges going in and washing away very important artefacts from the site", bosses said.

Mr O'Connor said he was worried for the future of heritage sites.

He said: "If it continues the way it has over the past 20 years, these sites may not exist in another 60, 70, 80 years, scarily.

"It's very difficult to beat nature.

"Yes, we can reduce our carbon emissions to try and reduce the global warming and climate change, but that's not a short-term solution.

"That's going to take an awful long time ... we're in trouble at the moment."

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