THE Education Minister hopes to have planning permission in place for a new St Helier primary school before the next election.
A total of more than £12 million was included in the government’s proposed four-year Budget, published earlier this month, for “new schools and educational developments” as well as a further £1m over two years for a related feasibility project.
But Deputy Rob Ward has stressed that the town school project, planned for the former Jersey Gas site, is in its early stages and highlighted work on a special-needs facility and a new youth centre in St Helier as projects that could be realised more quickly.
In this week’s JEP Saturday Interview, Deputy Ward said robust discussions had already taken place among ministers over plans for the site in the north of St Helier, with a decision to move ahead with the new town school, rather than the extension of the Millennium Town Park and skate park proposed by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, who is now an Assistant Infrastructure Minister.
Deputy Ward said: “A large housing estate was going on to that site originally, but this [school project] will be a better use of that space, and will also enable us to replace schools that are not as fit for purpose as we would want them to be.”
He added: “We are at the early stages with this project, and we need to be realistic about what can be achieved by the end of this political term.
“We won’t be able to start building as early as I’d like, but I’ll have to accept that as a reality of life, and I’d like to think we could acquire the land [for the school] and obtain planning permission [by mid 2026], so the matter isn’t an issue at the next election.”
The minister said the new-school project was being driven by the inadequacy of some parts of the current schools estate, and that he believed the government had a greater urgency and appreciation for the need to build the school.
The Education Minister said he wanted to maintain focus on projects that could be delivered sooner, including plans for new facilities for La Passarelle School, which caters for children and young people with social, emotional, and mental-health needs.
“That’s a really important scheme for the Island, accommodating 40 to 50 children who currently have problems accessing education, and I’d like to think it could be delivered by October or November of next year,” he said.
Deputy Ward said he was also pushing to make progress on a new youth and community centre in Ann Street to cater for the increasingly large number of young people living in the north of St Helier.
Children’s Minister Richard Vibert said in March that the new youth centre could cost in excess of £5m, and that he hoped the parish would provide funding for the scheme, alongside government investment.
