Main road to Guernsey's West coast to close for four months

Friday, 20 March 2026 10:40

Essential electricity work will close the Route de Cobo for four months limiting access to the beach from the Sausmarez Park area.

Guernsey Electricity is investing in a phased upgrade of things like cables and distribution boxes.

Many are ageing and unable to deal with the predicted rise in demand as Guernsey decarbonises and we use rechargeable items far more, like cars and e-bikes.

Infrastructure upgrades along Route de Cobo will see the road closed from Monday 23 March to Friday 17 July.

Guernsey Electricity's Head of Communications Christian Lacey-Brennan says the work is essential:

"Four months is a longer closure than we would usually expect. We do appreciate that.

"But we need to upgrade some of the electricity infrastructure in Route de Cobo to ensure that we can continue providing a secure supply of electricity for residents and businesses.

"A lot of the kit is quite old. Some of the cables in the road are from 1958, so it's nearly 70 years old.

"There's also a distribution pillar that's at the roadside that's around 40 years old and regularly floods with seawater as well, so that's not ideal.

"So we want to replace that and relocate that as well, and we want to get the cables upgraded.

Christian Lacey-Brennan explains why they are starting in the spring:

"Demand is a lot higher in winter, and if we're undertaking work when demand is quite high in the area, that does increase the risk of supply disruptions during the work.

"There's obviously longer hours in terms of daylight, so we can hopefully work a bit longer as well.

"So ultimately it's quicker, safer and cheaper to undertake this work now, than it is in the winter."