POLL RESULTS: ‘Don’t demolish Haut de la Garenne’

A total of 59 per cent of the 1,100 people who voted said the historic building should be preserved.

Forty-one per cent said it should be knocked down.

The poll was in response to a call by the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry panel for the authorities to consider demolishing the home, which was at the centre of the child abuse scandal.

In its report, the panel said: We believe that the buildings at Haut de la Garenne are a reminder of an unhappy past or shameful history for many people.

‘They are also a symbol of the turmoil and trauma of the early stages of Operation Rectangle, the attention it brought to the island and the distress it evoked in many former residents.

‘We recommend that consideration be given as to how the buildings can be demolished and that any youth or outdoor activity or services for children located on the site should be in modern buildings bearing no resemblance to what went before.’

Your Facebook comments

Glenn Anthony: ‘Keep the building. Fantastic design and architecture. Every building has had its history in this case negative. While we can’t change the past, we can only look to the future. Although what happened was a reminder we should not let this haunt the future.’

Alex Blampied: ‘No. It’s a beautiful building. Use it for the benefit of the community. It was people and systems that failed, not the building. There’s a risk it will be replaced by accommodation for the rich and that site and view will be lost for the public forever.’

Donna Harcourt-Evans: ‘Ask the victims then make a decision.’

Sacha Hubbard: ‘Yes. And it should be used to build homes for young Jersey people who need to get a foot on the property ladder. That would be some form of atonement, at least. Build houses that cost no more than £250,000, with a control on any attempts at profiteering, and let’s see some investment in the youth of Jersey. It’s an ugly building with an ugly history.’

Mark Keen: ‘You can’t bulldoze away a problem. Also, I don’t believe the issues were exclusive to this site. Where would you stop?’

Zoë Georgina Reed: ‘No do not knock it down.. It’s not the building but the staff that ran the home’s fault. Utterly disgusting. It’s actually a nice looking building. Turn it in to something positive.’

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