Bouet Closures Nearly Force Business To Shut

The Grand Bouet has been closed for 33 weeks over the past 12 years, and that's nearly meant the end for pet shop Creature Comforts.

A Freedom of Information request by Island FM has revealed that the Grand Bouet has been closed for 231 days, or 33 weeks, since 2010.

The vast majority of those closures, 119 days in all, were for Guernsey Water. Most were from 2016 onwards, totalling 93 full days and two nights, all for sewer investigation, rehabilitation or repairs.

The road is a main route that links the east coast with inland St Peter Port. The pet shop Creature Comforts is based in the Grand Bouet, and its owner, Michelle Botes, says the repeated closures have damaged business:

"It’s had an absolutely huge effect. We did get to the point where we considered closing, because people literally couldn’t get to us and the gridlock in the general area was so much so that people didn’t want to come anywhere near the Grand Bouet. It was crazy."

Michelle says as the road closures continued, she considered shutting the business:

"We sent out an appeal at one stage, saying to our customers, we're going to have to close. And they all rallied and helped us out. My landlord has been amazing. My parents have bailed us out on many occasions, so it's been really tough."

Michelle says at one time, takings were so low she couldn't pay the rent. She spoke to a lawyer and a letter was sent to Guernsey Water explaining their difficulties. The result was better signage during the closures, pointing out when access to the shop was possible.

We contacted the utility for a response and Carl Falla, the capital delivery manager at Guernsey Water, told us:

“In majority, these closures have involved sewer CCTV surveys, consequent rehabilitation works and follow up checks.

Unfortunately, one section of the recently rehabilitated sewer did require additional checks to ensure its structural integrity. These checks have now been completed and signed off.

Although we appreciate that no closure of a major road is convenient, when compared to full sewer replacement, rehabilitation represents just a fraction of both the cost and disruption."

The road has been closed for 12 days so far this year, for drinking and waste water connections.

Creature Comforts continues to trade in the Grand Bouet and is now opening an offshoot at the Lowlands Estate in the Vale.