- Around 2,000 attended Esplanade protest
- Organiser now calling for ‘a little bit of patience’
- See what some of the protesters had to say, below
THE organiser of yesterday’s Esplanade protest has urged those responsible for the proposed Jersey International Finance Centre ‘not to move on site’ until a report by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel has been released.
Around 2,000 Islanders opposed to the scheme to develop six office blocks created a ‘ring of defiance’ around the car park on Sunday afternoon and an official petition to stop the development had been signed by more than 1,000 people since it was launched on Thursday afternoon, with many more using the protest as an opportunity to officially register their concerns.
6 – The number of office blocks proposed for the site
200,000 – The amount of office space in square feet former Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf said would have to be pre-let before work could begin. Senator Maclean said this was a mistake
13 – The number of prospective tenants supposedly in talks to move into the development
16,000 – The square footage to be taken by Swiss bank UBS, with the option of a further 7,000 sq ft
1,200 – The number of people who have signed a petition to halt the development
£50 million – The amount the JDC estimate the development could return to the Treasury Department
At the protest cries of ‘no, no, no’ rang out from the Esplanade, with thousands of people of all ages waving signs with the same message.
Commenting after yesterday’s protest, organiser Sean Power said: ‘My plea to the board of the JDC and the Council of Ministers is not to move on site until the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel report comes out – that might salvage some goodwill.
‘Around 2,000 people are saying “Can we have a little bit of patience?”, at least until the Scrutiny Panel reports back. We are prepared to back off if that report says it can make money.
‘It is great that so many people turned up – I am delighted, exhausted and emotionally drained.
‘There was something intangible about today. There is an energy about this campaign that I have not seen in other campaigns.’
The former States Deputy – a vocal critic of the finance centre – added that he was not surprised that none of the Council of Ministers attended the protest.
‘If I’m honest, I did not expect any of the establishment politicians to be here,’ he said. ‘They must be worried and there must be a great deal of anxiety in the Council of Ministers and the board of the JDC.’
The proposed Jersey International Finance Centre has prompted an increasingly heated debate.
Last week, Swiss bank UBS signed up as the first tenants of the development, taking around 16,000 sq ft of office space.
The States-owned Jersey Development Company say this is enough for work to begin on the site.
However, this rallied those opposed to the scheme who have raised concerns about the States being involved in the provision of office blocks and argue that the development will pose significant risk to taxpayers.
Treasury Minister Alan Maclean has said that no taxpayers’ money will be used to fund the development.
In a previous States debate, Senator Philip Ozouf said that 200,000 sq ft of office space would be pre-let before work began on site. Senator Maclean has said that this was simply a mistake and that work could begin once a ‘sufficient’ pre-let had been agreed.
However, Mr Power and St Brelade Deputy Montfort Tadier have both questioned whether this was truly a mistake and instead have said that the goalposts have been shifted.
A proposition lodged by Deputy Tadier calling for a referendum on the finance centre is due to be debated on Tuesday 16 June.
Stella Bailey
‘We need to protest that our elected States Members are spending our money on this. I am completely opposed to the finance centre. This is not the site for it and I am hopeful that today will make a difference.’
Bernie Copple
‘If we need all this office space, why was one large block left empty for almost 11 years on the other side of the Tunnel? There is no need for it and the States should not be funding it.’
Kathy Le Breton
‘I think it’s a vanity project that we do not need. I don’t think we need this amount of office space and we do need a car park. I also think it is wrong that the States are getting involved in something like this.’
Peter Clarke
‘It is a crying shame that they are putting up a concrete jungle here when we have plenty of office space. We don’t pay our money for them to gamble it away. It may not make much of a difference but we need to stand up and be counted.’
