They fear that if Environment and Public Services approve a £1 million investment to upgrade the works, it will not only threaten rare animal and plant life and important archaeological evidence but will also destroy the fabric and unique biodiversity of St Ouen’s Bay.The application, submitted last month, prompted the National Trust for Jersey, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey Heritage Trust, Société Jersiaise and Friends of Les Mielles to lodge a joint objection.Simon Sand and Gravel Ltd, who have quarried in Les Mielles for more than 100 years, are applying for their last operational licence as the family-run company is committed to ceasing extraction in 2018.The president of the National Trust for Jersey, Hilary Grant, spoke for the organisations when she said: ‘We strongly believe that it is wrong to destroy this ecologically important area in order simply to delay the inevitable importation of sand.
The Island was faced with this problem ten years ago and extraction was permitted on the basis that this would allow the fundamental issues of importation to be addressed.’
