Storm Ciaran: Jersey houses 'rotting away' say families

Scaffolding covers some of the houses damaged in the storm

Some Jersey residents are expressing frustration they cannot return to their homes because repairs are ongoing after Storm Ciaran four months ago.

A number of people living at FB Cottages in St Clement voiced concerns, with one relative saying it was a "mess", with the house "rotting away".

The estate was hit hard by the tornado in November 2023, with 10 families evacuated.

Property management firm Maillards and Co said work was progressing.

Some houses are boarded up with their roof tiles ripped off by the storm

A daughter of residents at FB Cottages posted pictures on social media saying: "This is the mess that FB Cottages is still in since the storm.

"Zero work has been done to my family's house, it's in the exact same state it was in when the tornado hit.

"The house, in fact, is still just rotting away."

Another said it was "horrible living here" and they "get stressed with the mess of the estate".

"They could be doing gardens etc and fences walls etc but nothing," they said.

'Extremely upsetting'

Another said it was "so horrible what we are all going through".

"It's extremely upsetting and frustrating for us all, not knowing what's going to happen next is the worst feeling ever," they said.

Chris Marsh of Maillards and Co estimated that work would take another three to six months.

There was "quite a long process" in carrying out the repairs with three loss adjustors involved, he said.

"Minor works to the properties have started, 10 properties have been completed and there are a further eight in progress now and three are going to happen in the next few weeks," he said.

"The specifications are out to tender on the 10 or 12 most severely damaged properties."

He said all residents had been getting weekly email updates on progress.

Temporary works had been carried "almost straight away" after the storm, he said.

"It might seem that nothing is happening but this process can take a long time and once we get to the end the work will happen quite quickly," he said.