A beautician previously based at Rouge Bouillon has reopened in a new location, after a burst water main flooded its previous premises and a sinkhole left the building unsafe.

Pennyfeathers was one of the three businesses forced to leave the property on Clarendon Road after the unexpected damage on 18 December. 

Since then, part of Rouge Bouillon between Clarendon Road and Palmyra has been closed to the public while work is underway to stabilise the affected premises. 

Penny Downes, owner of the beauty business, describes the earth-shattering moment she found out about the burst water main:

"Sadly it flooded our basement area with about 20,000 litres of water, which has washed the footings of the building away making it unsafe to work in.

"I found this information out whilst giving a treatment! We had to be emergency evacuated after seeing very large cracks and destruction happening to the building, as we were actually in it. We were on site when everything was actually happening."

Cracks forming in Penny's beauticians after a nearby water main burst

Penny told Channel 103 that the emergency closure caused serious damage to both her business and her mental health: 

"It was the busiest week of the year, Christmas week, everybody wants to look beautiful for Santa and his friends. So for me, it was a massive onslaught of cancelling a lot of clients in a very short space of time.

"In total, for the six weeks that I've been shut, I've had to make 188 cancellations, so it's affected by business massively. I also had lots of lovely Christmas presents that people had bought for clients that were stuck in the building that I had to refund.

"Then on top of that, there was my general stress levels of having to relocate a business from a crumbling building to sourcing a new site and getting it all moved - which I magically did in 45 days."

Penny Downes

Pennyfeathers is now set up in its temporary home at the Lido Medical Centre on St Saviour's Road, which Penny said she wouldn't have been able to do without support from her husband, customers and the Jersey community. 

Meanwhile, the government says that Rouge Bouillon could be closed until Easter, as repairs continue. 

Rouge Bouillon repairs

Penny told us that, while her and the other businesses that were forced to shut have stuck together and looked after one another, she hasn't received the same level of support from other services: 

"I've had zero support from the government, zero support from Jersey Water. I have put questions to Jersey Water and I'm still waiting for an answer, which is extremely frustrating as we're in a situation where no-one will take responsibility."

Penny is not optimistic that this will be a 'quick fix':

"Until someone takes responsibility, we can't move forward with going back to the original site - which could be a matter of years. We're not talking short term, this is the long game, we could be out for a couple of years."

Rouge Bouillon diversion

A spokesperson from Jersey Water said:

“We fully understand the frustrations and inconvenience caused by the circumstances of this incident. We have been actively working with the Infrastructure Department, property owners and insurance companies to resolve the issues posed by the unstable building as quickly as possible.

"We have reached out to all property owners and tenants, and now the relevant insurance companies should be in communication with all affected parties. We are as keen as everyone else to see the road reopened and our teams are primed to complete the work as soon as we receive permission to do so.”

The Government of Jersey has been contacted for a comment.

Last week, St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft said he understood the 'frustration and inconvenience'  the ongoing closure is causing residents, businesses and commuters.

"This is a highly complex situation involving multiple parties, and ensuring the safety of everyone remains our priority."

"We hope to provide a firm timetable for the necessary works and the reopening of the road next week."

The government said it was 'monitoring and facilitating' ongoing meetings with relevant stakeholders.