Here we have the answers to our questionnaire we sent out to General Election 2014 candidates – click on a tab to read what that person had to say and what promises they made.
Click here for the current list of States of Jersey Ministers and their job titles
Click here for the Island of Jersey General Election 2014 results
Thank you to Shirley Baudins for taking the time to answer our questions! Here is what she had to say:
For ease of reading, some of the pre-question descriptions (but not answers) have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
UPDATE: Sadly, Shirley Baudins has had to pull out – we are sorry to see her leave.
Thank you for your questionnaire, and thank you for the hard work you still do for our coastline and marine environment.
On the Vote.je website I was only allowed 500 words and had to concentrate on people as my priority but I am totally in agreement with your aims. We have a beautiful island and should do all we can to protect it.
The Esplanade Car Park
1. Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
Yes
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks?
No
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
No
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
Yes, and I supported Stuart Syvret in his attempt to present the danger, when we were both in the States.
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the accounts should be made more transparent?
Definitely
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
Certainly not
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
I could not agree more about the necessity of having transparent accounts.
You and the Island
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
I would object to further development and encourage Tourism advertising for these areas.
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
Yes I am very concerned. One only has to look at the Portelet and Corbiere developments on headlands of exceptional beauty
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
I would help you in your lobbying
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
Yes, certainly. I am no stranger to doing this in the States Chamber.
Contact Shirley Baudins
E: shirleybaudainsosborn@gmail.com
Tel: 01534 888 627
Thank you to Senator Guy de Faye for taking the time to answer our questions so fully. Here is what he has to say:
For ease of reading, some of the descriptions have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to SOS Jersey questions.
Esplanade Car Park
1. Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
The Esplanade car park is one of Jersey’s more attractive ground level parking areas thanks to the extensive planting that has had time to establish itself. Unfortunately, it also represents a very poor use of extremely high value land space and it was always destined to be a temporary amenity. In due course it will give way to underground car parking (providing many more car parking spaces) and new buildings with eco-friendly roofing and roof top gardens. Consequently, I see no case for its long term preservation.
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks?
The original master plan for the “Financial Quarter” contained mixed development, including leisure areas and retail. The high proportion of office premises included in the proposed development was a response to the early expansionist years of Jersey’s financial services industry, when a large number of substantially sized Town residences were converted to office space. The intention of the “Financial Quarter” was to provide business premises designed to the latest environmental and technical standards, allowing a shift of occupancy to the Esplanade and an opportunity to re-instate domestic dwellings. Whilst this objective remains achievable, I favour the development of Grade A office blocks with roof gardens etc.
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
As indicated in my response to Q2, I believe that Jersey harbours a large amount of inappropriate office space in buildings that were not designed for that purpose. Modern offices are more energy efficient and capable of housing the massive amount of electrical and fibre optic cabling that is now required. We need new “state of the art” offices if we are to attract business to the Island and we can “reconfigure” the redundant premises to other uses.
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
I was under the impression that most Islanders understand that there is a considerable amount of unchecked and ungraded waste on the West of Albert Pier reclamation location, some of which may be described as toxic.
My own inquiries indicate that a significant number of local businesses used the opportunity to dump hard core materials on the site, whilst concealing unacceptable materials such as paints and other commercial chemicals within dump loads.
There is little evidence to determine how much of the material is actually poisonous to humans or wild life, but the underground parking aspect and the road tunnel feature of the proposed “Financial Quarter” would ensure that a very large quantity of this polluted material could be removed and properly disposed of.
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the accounts should be made more transparent?
I believe that the SoJDC accounts should be more tranparent, with the caveat that publication of information should not undermine any SoJDC position in respect of commercial sensitivity.
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
Most certainly not. I consider SoJDC to be a government quango that is essentially out of control and virtually unaccountable. It is a vast property owner and its income and expenditure streams are highly questionable. A far too limited number of people know what SoJDC does and proposes to do and monitoring controls are minimal. There must be far greater accountability and much wider consultation on future planning.
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
SoJDC presides over the ownership of a large and diverse property portfolio that is owned by the public. I would like to see that the total scale of that property portfolio is published and continually updated. I have been required to sign confidentiality agreements simply in order to acquire maps of publicly owned land, which is an utterly ridiculous state of affairs.
The public should be invited to offer ideas and suggestions as to how that portfolio could be developed.
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
The Ramsar Areas have been very poorly handled and in certain locations are in the wrong place. The concept was initially “sold” to the States of Jersey on a marine conservation basis that would put Jersey on a “world map” for “marine biology tourism”. The Island already had quite adequate marine conservation laws and regulations and the advantage to tourism was was minimal.
It was not properly understood that the Ramsar Convention was not intended for interstitial tidal zones, but was a political tool aimed at the draining of marshland in Iraq, which was threatening the culture and lives of Iraqi Marsh Arabs under dictatorial rule.
The English Channel is now “fished out” and Ramsar status will not prevent a fleet of Spanish fishing boats or Russian factory ship with support vessels suddenly clearing out our local waters without notice.
We should be putting measures in place to protect our fisheries now. All forms of bottom trawling and dredging should be banned and consideration must be given to adopting similar measures to Gibraltar, by placing physical obstructions on the sea bed. Such obstructions could be constructed such as they form “artificial rocks or reefs” for nurturing marine life.
Additionally, I would favour the sinking of wrecks around the coastline to promote dive tourism as well as fish breeding nurseries.
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
My response depends entirely on the location and I think it is unhelpful to attempt to establish all embracing principles. Organisers who persuaded several thousand people to hold hands on St Ouen’s beach also offered some planning guidelines for coastal developments. Those guidelines would have blocked the construction of the new “El Tico”. I am sure a number of people would favour the old “El Tico”, but the new one seems pretty popular to me.
I am also happy with dense development on reclamation schemes, such as the Waterfront.
La Collette 1 and 2 plus West of Albert Pier totals over 180 acres of land, which accommodates power stations, a fuel farm, marinas, leisure facilities and a large number of residential units. If those buildings weren’t there, Islanders should consider where all that construction would have been located.
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
The bulk of the inappropriate coastal development was constructed 60 years ago. It is now a matter of making improvements when opportunities arise. However, I remain of the view that we must continue the well established Jersey tradition of reclaiming land from the sea.
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
Where I agree with the question or the proposals I am quite happy to take SOS Jersey issues to the States.
12. Have you anything else that you would like to add?
I consider that our future economy will take greater advantage of Jersey’s marine assets. Aqua-culture, educational opportunies for marine biology, fishing (commercial and leisure), tidal energy, sport diving, wave power and yachting are all areas for economic diversification which will have various impacts. SOSJersey may have views on this. I believe that balances must be struck between economic and environmental benefits.
13. What website and contact details would you like added?
Further information on my general intent and policies can be found on guydefaye.com (still under modification) and vote.je.
MALCOM FEREY – SENATORIAL CANDIDATE
We have spoken to Malcolm Ferey who is standing as a new candidate for the Senatorial election. We discussed his policies and aspirations should he be elected as Senator.
Malcolm was supportive of the work that we do and had read through our history, past reports and studied our reports beforehand. In some areas he was keen to learn more of what SOSJ is all about.
Though he supports the Finance sector (as do SOSJ), Malcolm does not support the expansion on the Finance Sector into the Esplanade car park by the building of six new office blocks, and the unnecessary and excavation of the current car park.
He would prefer the Finance district to be kept to the north of the the Esplanade where there is capacity for Grade ‘A’ office space and more coming on stream.
He is also concerned that the SoJDC does not report directly to the States.
He also shares our concerns about the creation of more States of Jersey Limited Companies which may have the same structure.
Malcolm has promised that if elected he would be happy to ask questions in the States for SOSJ if required, and if necessary take forward private propositions in the areas that we work in.
We therefore feel that Malcolm is a candidate deserving of our members’ votes and recommend that you support him in the Senatorial election.
Thank you to Russell Labey for taking the time to answer our questions in his own inimitable style; here is what he has to say:
For ease of reading, some of the descriptions have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
Esplanade Car Park
1. Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
I deplore how it came into being. Unimaginative land reclamation burying the sea walls and divorcing St Helier from the sea – and all this for a car park and shrubbery? That doesn’t make sense to me. The green corridor should begin at La Collette and follow throughout the ‘waterfront’ with landscaping.
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks?
Not necessarily, depends if there’s a market demand for them.
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
That is the question. I’m wrestling with the balance between enabling our economy to grow sufficiently to pay for the oncoming aging population against royally screwing up further what we’ve got.
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
Shameful.
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the accounts should be made more transparent?
Yes.
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
No
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
We’ve made a total pig’s ear of the waterfront. It’s a long depressing saga and there is a need to retrieve from that, it’s the big issue staring all of us in the face everyday.
I’m on record as calling for the States of Jersey Development Company to be wound up and I have a feeling the majority of States members are of that view already. What’s the point of having an expensive quango, with people at the top from the City of London when there’s no market demand for the sort of developments they’ve committed themselves to and yet at the same time there are huge public sector needs and a desperate essential to re-unite St Helier with the sea and re-do the whole vision of Waterfront 2000?
However I don’t want to come at this emotionally from a position of ignorance, I was a journalist and it taught me to always look at a situation from the opposing point of view. I am not closed off to hearing out the SOJDC. Word is they have something to announce imminently so let’s see…
Urban regeneration and the waterfront being part of that is a major task, who is going to do that? The current lot?
We need people in the States, politicians, who will take responsibility, who are fired up about built environment and the coastal environment and drive it.
You and the Island
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
If elected. If. All I can.
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
Yes.
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
Well, look, everything I write here will be viewed as me electioneering but before this election started, way before, on Planning for example – town planning which happens to be an interest of mine – I was banging on about the need to consult people on this island, brilliant people who know much more than me about how to conserve what we’ve got and build new appropriately, sensitively, imaginatively and in a user-friendly fashion.
The first programmes I made for the BBC were about the town. I’d tramp around the streets with Christopher Scholefield, André Ferrari and a tape recorder trying to get people to wake up. We should formalise a relationship with these guys, listen to them and give them a direct line to government at the earliest stages. The same is true for you guys.
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
More so. See above.
Thank You!
Thank you to Chris Lamy for taking the time to answer our questions. Here is what he has to say:
For ease of reading, some of the descriptions have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
Many thanks for giving me an opportunity to answer your questions. I truly believe that we think along lines. To me this Island is the centre
of the Universe and we don’t want any more desecration.
1. Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
Personally I’d make a park of it on top of six underground floors of parking.
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks?
No.
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
Not at present.
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
So I am told.
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the accounts should be made more transparent?
Too right. There should be monthly a printout available to the Taxpayers as to where OUR money was spent in the previous month.
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
I would not be standing for office if I did not want to get rid of the rotten wood.
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
I await parliamentary privilege to say more.
You and the Island
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
Residents and visitors need to become more aware of the subject. I would start with more school promotions.
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
I realise that places like St. Brelades Bay have been ruined over many decades and it will take a similar period to restore it. There are however many beautiful areas of coastline remaining and must remain so. New developments should be kept to existing built-up areas.
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
Sorry but I have just answered this question in no 9. However, I would resist any inappropriate developments but try my best to find alternatives if these developments were absolutely necessary to the Public of Jersey.
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
Yes but I would go to my electors for their opinions before making a final decision. These sort of subjects should be brought up at Parish Hall level so that all can be part of the process. Once again we need to get people interested and get rid of this existing despondency.
And lastly
12. Have you anything else that you would like to add?
1. 12 Have you all night ??
All The Very Best,
Chris Lamy
Thank you to Sam Mézec for taking the time to answer our questions! Here is what he has to say:
For ease of reading, some of the pre-question descriptions (but not answers) have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
On the Esplanade Car Park
One of the first votes I cast after being elected to the States in March was to delay the proposed development and conduct a thorough investigation in to it. I did so because I, and I believe the majority of St Helier residents, am skeptical of the need for such a drastic development and the risk of the States taking on such a large project without any certainty about secured tenants for the offices etc.
There are many areas in inner St Helier that are neglected and the first priority should be to revitalise those. There were worries that the Esplanade Finance District would draw out more people from the high street and damage the shops/ restaurants and cafés there.
I am not against development and I am not against potentially building more offices, but it must be tasteful and demonstrably of benefit to St Helier and the economy.
On the SoJDC
My involvement with issues concerning the SoJDC whilst a States Member has been very limited but I have been concerned by some of their proposals around selling off assets for no good reason (e.g. Piquet House) and will oppose that in the States.
I also do not like big and important States institutions and companies being overseen by just one Minister. I supported a recent (failed) States proposition to create boards with a cross section of States Members to oversee the States-owned utilities. I hope it is brought up again in future as an idea and would be open to such a scheme being opened up to other States institutions and companies.
On a basic point, I am more than happy to support more transparency in their accounts. Allowing more and better scrutiny by States Members and interested parties can only be a good thing, so long as commercially sensitive information is safeguarded.
On Ramsar areas
I wasn’t aware of specifically what a Ramsar area was so had to Google it!
When you compare Jersey’s coast with parts of England, it’s easy to see how lucky we are to have so much natural beauty. At the end of the day, it’s an asset not just environmentally, but for tourism and everything that goes with that.
If our waters are polluted or spoilt in other ways, it will have an impact on all sorts of other connected areas and we’ll suffer the consequences.
There isn’t a single islander (except maybe Freddie Cohen) who doesn’t think the development at Portlet isn’t horrific. We have to stop anything else like that happening in the future. End of.
As for whether I could ask questions or lodge propositions on your behalf, I could, but I would have to admit that SOS Jersey’s focus is not my area of expertise and there will be other members much better qualified to do that. When the case has been made and your argument is what is best for Jersey, I will absolutely support it.
Contact Sam Mézec
Facebook: facebook.com/SamMezec
St Helier Registered Political Party Affiliation: Reform Jersey
Thank you to Peter McLinton for taking the time to answer our questions! Here is what he had to say:
For ease of reading, some of the pre-question descriptions (but not answers) have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
It would be my honour and pleasure to help
Esplanade Car Park
1.Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
You only have to visit the Esplanade car park to realise how useful it is. If it goes, where are all those cars going to be parked?
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks?
No
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
We have enough office space already
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
Yes
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the accounts should be made more transparent?
All government should be completely transparent. Government exists for the people so, unless it is a matter of ‘national security’, everything should be laid bare for all to examine if they wish.
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
If you keep doing what you have always done, you keep getting what you always got. Not change for changes sake, change for growth
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
No single States member should have such power. We elect a chamber of politicians to make decisions on our behalf (in theory), not kingmakers and ‘dictators’
You and the Island
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
As is often the case, many in Jersey remain unaware of the machinations of government that are enacted in their name.
Something as simple as information posts along the coast explaining what a Ramsar area is, what is being done to protect it, what is ‘being protected’ and why.
If the public don’t have the information how are they going to be able to form an opinion? This simple, low cost scheme could bring to the attention of many the important work being done.
We should be moving to protect as much of our coastline as possible. Who is to say which sections of our shoreline are more important than others. It is ALL important.
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
We are only ‘borrowing’ the island for the comparatively brief amount of time we are alive. It is our solemn duty to protect it for future generations to enjoy.
While a small number of people may be prepared to pay large sums of money to ‘look out’ from said properties it should never be forgotten that we have to look at them.
Never inappropriate, never out of scale.
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
Every decision made in the chamber should be able to pass the ‘three legged stool’ test
Is it…
- Economically viable
- Socially acceptable
- Environmentally sustainable/sympathetic
If any one of the above isn’t met then you have a ‘wonky stool’
I will always work for balance in all the above no matter what is under discussion.
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
Absolutely
And lastly
12. Have you anything else that you would like to add?
Steve Jobs once said “you can join the dots backwards but you can’t join them forwards”. Let’s be very careful to make sure we take our beautiful island moving forward in a direction that future generations will thank us for and not to a place we will look back from one day and regret the decisions that were made.
Remember, we are only borrowing Jersey for a while, we have to hand it on. Let’s treat it with absolute care.
Peter McLinton
M: 07797 727 747
E: petermclinton@me.com
Facebook: facebook.com/peter.mac.9235
Twitter: twitter.com/@therealpetermac
Thank you to Murray Norton for taking the time to answer our questions; here is what he has to say:
For ease of reading, some of the descriptions have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
Esplanade Car Park
1. Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
It serves a purpose, sadly with our reliance on the car and given the mature grown of greenery in that area, it would be a great shame to lose it.
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks?
No
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
We have a finance work force that account for almost half of the GVA of our economy, so clearly we have to secure our economic future, but new offices – a survey of current office space would, I suspect, tell us we don’t need new offices.
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
Yes.
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC) accounts should be made more transparent?
Transparency is what is expected of government and part of the issue of vote apathy and a population disenfranchised with government, is because of just this type of muddying of the waters.
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
No
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
No
You and the Island
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
Our protected areas should be protected, heralded by schools, tourism and locals and as a member of the States I would fully support policy, regarding renewable energy sources.
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
Yes
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
I don’t pretend to be an expert, nor will I. However, I will listen to those that know better on this subject than I and support keeping Jersey special.
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
Yes
12. Have you anything else that you would like to add?
As clearly outlines in the States report Keep Jersey Special, we must adopt a three-legged stool approach to government policy that mean that decisions should support economic, social and environmental issues. Without one of these legs the stool will fall down.
Contact Murray Norton
You can always pop into Murray’s or Mash in St Aubin’s village to see Murray.
DARIUS PEARCE, CANDIDATE – DEPUTY, ST. CLEMENT
When I (Dave Cabeldu) heard that a one time guitar student of mine, Darius Pearce, was standing for Deputy in the Parish of St. Clement, home to SOSJ HQ, I was naturally very interested.
I stood for Deputy in 2011 coming third, and a very interesting experience it was. Following the election I decided to spend the next three years building up the SOSJ team and widening our activities, seeing what could be achieved outside government.
Both Darius and myself identified that in the the western part of the parish that there was (and still is) a lack of open land in the form of parkland, play areas, and allotments, all desperately needed. Behind Les Marais there is a steel fence through which residents can tantalisingly see dozens of verges of unused land. Just 8 verges could make all the difference to the residents in the area. I started investigating this possibility during my campaign.
Darius contacted us recently and came to see our Chairman, Michael du Pré, and myself and explained his vision which matched my own in 2011. Darius has already done a lot of work in getting this to a point where it could be feasible. In addition he has some very good ideas on the role of Constables and how the roads could be better managed.
Darius is a supporter of SOSJ, has looked into our work, and like Malcolm Ferey would be willing to ask questions in the States if elected and also take Private Member’s Propositions if needed.
It seems to be the case that many States Members will ask the relevant civil servant and then repeat that in their reply, going no further. The officer can only repeat what has been agreed and not question it or see a workaround if something is obviously wrong. It is not their job to do so.
Darius is a Management Accountant, and owning a successful business is well versed in how budgets can be achieved. This is something we don’t believe many candidates could do, and would like to see more candidates publish proper CVs!
We were impressed with Darius’ plans and policies and I agreed to sign his papers, something I have never done before!
If you live in St. Clement (or know someone who does), we would say that Darius is worthy of your vote.
Thank you to Susie Pinel for taking the time to answer our questions; here is what she has to say:
Because this was submitted late, we haven’t had time to paste the questions back in – Click here for the full questionnaire to see them. You’ll get the Susie’s message(s) here anyway:
1) In the bigger picture, this is extremely expensive land and needs to pay for itself.It doesn’t need to be built on in its
entirety.
2) We need AAA office space to attract the finance sector who could move to any jurisdiction ie. Singapore who provide this.
3) As above. The requirements for modern office space is very different from previous ways of working. Moves to new offices would free up centre town locations for much needed housing.
4) Yes. I realise that this in itself is a problem of removal and disposal.
5) I believe in a level playing field. When ALL large developers accounts are made more transparent, then so should SoJDC.
6) as above.
7) SoJDC has a very competent and cohesive Board of Trustees and should be permitted the commercial freedom to act as a business in a competitive fashion.
8) Much more public awareness of our unique coastline and marine environment which is largely taken for granted. Strive to create more RAMSAR protected coastline.
9) I have strongly voiced my opposition in the States regarding more large scale development in St. Clement, already very densely populated. I also voted on both occasions to acquire Plemont for the people of Jersey and protect the headland from development.
10) In principle, I would support a lobby group such as SOS to ask questions and counter complacency.
11) Yes. If I sincerely believed in the question.
12) This questionnaire, whilst valuable, is difficult to answer because one question runs into another. I have answered honestly and feel very protective of my Island home and it’s environment but it is almost impossible to give clear answers to closed questions without discussion of options.
Please note my new email address:- susiepinel@gmail.com
Thank you to Deputy Sean Power for taking the time to answer our questions! Here is what he had to say:
For ease of reading, some of the descriptions have been stripped out – here is the full questionnaire.
Esplanade Car Park
1.Do you wish to preserve the Esplanade car park?
YES. I think any office development should be held on the line between the Grand and the Pomme.
2. Do you wish to see it developed for office blocks
No. It is not needed at the moment. I simply cannot see the demand.
3. Do you think we need more new offices?
Yes. Market driven and as indicated in answer 1
4. Do you realise the area is built on toxic deposits?
No. I would need more information and soil sampling.
States of Jersey Development Company (SoJDC)
5. Do you believe the accounts should be made more transparent?
It is a States trading company so should be transparent.
6. Do you wish to leave things as they are?
No. I am not sure SoJDC is needed.
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
I am not sure the Resources side of T&R should stay in Treasury. All States trading companies could report to an EDD Minister and be encouraged to enable further economic diversification both within and outside the island
You and the Island
8. What will you do to further the protection of our marine environment, and promote the Ramsar Areas that Jersey are proud to have?
Apart from research into tidal and wave energy, something I would encourage, I would like further enhancement of marine protection by:
- Finally arresting and stopping the discharge of accidental raw sewerage discharge and uncontrolled (in wet weather) of nitrate enriched run off water into the sea;
9. Are you concerned at the ever denser (and often inappropriate) development that has been taking over our coastal areas?
I do my best in my role at planning to never approve an inappropriate development
10. If so, what do you think can be done and what would you do to help?
I think I have answered that in 9 above. What may seem appropriate in the eyes of one party may seem the opposite in another view.
11. Would you be happy to take questions to the States on behalf of our organisation and if necessary take Private Member’s propositions relating to any serious concerns we may have?
Of course if I agree with the substance of the question
And lastly
12. Have you anything else that you would like to add?
Not really. I think all planning applications should in future be made by a panel of at least seven people.
Contact Sean Power
Address: La Ferme Du Sud, Rue de la Corbiere, St. Brelade, JE3 8HN
Facebook: facebook.com/Seanppower
Twitter: twitter.com/seanpowerjersey