Homeowners Still Displaced One Year After Storm Ciaran Damage

Trevor Fosse, whose home was damaged a year ago in Storm Ciaran, expressed concern, stating, “If there’s a major storm, we could have a serious problem again.” Mr. Fosse, along with his wife and dog, relocated to temporary housing in Jersey following the damage to their home at Princess Elizabeth Court in St Clement, which occurred when a tornado struck the island in November 2023. Mr. Fosse articulated his reluctance to move his furniture back, stating, “I don’t want to bring all my furniture back in, if something goes wrong and it leaks again.” He also indicated, “I don’t think I’ll be back in before Christmas.” Haig Housing Trust, the organization responsible for managing the estate for veterans, reported that it has engaged with residents and anticipates all properties will be prepared for reoccupation prior to the beginning of December. Following Storm Ciaran last year, six residences were deemed uninhabitable, and over a year later, repairs have not been completed on all of them. Mr. Fosse stated that he will not return to his home until the roof has been tiled. He acknowledged, “They’ve done a good job in repairing and decorating my ceilings.” However, he added, “If you look up through the hatch into the attic, you can see the felt and the battoning, so that’s why there’s so much light coming through.” He concluded, “There’s no slates on the roof at all.” Bill Lindsay, representing Haig Housing Trust, affirmed that “all the homes are watertight and windproof”. He further explained, “I do understand that they look like they’re not finished… but we’ve got five other families living in the same properties and we’re not getting any complaints from those families.” Mr. Lindsay also mentioned, “We’ll see whether or not we can speed up the roofing works in particular.” He concluded by stating that they “understand the concerns of our tenants and the need to get these properties finished”.