Calls to save diving board after removal notice

HSE said the depth of the water under the platform fell below international standards

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.

'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 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."

'Lack of transparency'

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."