A public backlash sees the Education Committee go back to the drawing board on pedestrian and cycle access to Les Ozouets campus.
The Water Lanes at the western edge of St Peter Port connect Amherst with Les Ozouets and provide perfect pedestrian access to the post-16 campus that is being built.
But bikes are banned from two short sections because the footpath is too narrow for both walkers and cyclists.
A cover would have allowed shared access and was a planning condition for the campus.
An online petition started by the landlord of the nearby La Couture Inn has railed against changing the quaint nature of the Water Lanes and disrupting wildlife in the area.
New Education Committee president Paul Montague says they will seek to pause the planning application for six months:
“Safe access to the Les Ozouets Campus for students travelling to and from The Guernsey Institute is clearly very important, however I am very keen that we find a way to achieve this without materially changing an important green space.
"The six month extension officers have requested will allow alternative options to be looked at, and discussions to take place about the planning requirement itself."
He is reassuring those concerned that they are being listened to:
“We will still have to review ways that we can improve active travel routes to Les Ozouets, and it may be the case that we need to return to this idea if there is no alternative, but we will be sure to engage with the public about those options."
Meanwhile, work by Guernsey Electricity near St Pierre Park Hotel has meant that the stream was diverted into the hotel's pond, so the Water Lanes temporarily ran dry this week.
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