Excited? Hardly, Senator

From Michael Green.

I WRITE further to the JEP article which dominated the front page of the 16 September edition with regard to the Masterplan for the north of St Helier.

First of all, may I be allowed to point out that we are all gripped in a serious financial squeeze and the days of wine and roses are over?

Therefore it is highly inappropriate for Senator Cohen to choose this moment to reveal the developments which he hopes will take place, apparently ignoring the huge cost involved to the taxpayers who are currently burdened by high personal taxes and GST, together with a pay freeze, and not forgetting those who are unemployed or are faced with unemployment.

Senator Cohen is reported as saying that it is a very exciting vision. Exciting for whom?

Certainly not exciting for the shoppers who will suddenly find themselves without hundreds of car parking spaces when the town park and the Minden Place car park are lost to ‘greedy developers’ as described by Simon Crowcroft, who I understand has agreed to the demolition of Minden Pace car park despite that it was built as and always known as the shoppers’ car park due to its close proximity to the town shopping area.

Certainly not exciting for shoppers including the elderly and infirm who may be expected to trudge across from the yet to be constructed Ann Court car park in all winds and weathers, carrying heavy shopping or with young children in tow.

Certainly not exciting for town shopkeepers who may suddenly find their profits are down due to the absence of shoppers unable to park.

It has also been reported that with the demolition of the car park, shops and flats are to be included in the redevelopment. Do we really need more shops when there is great difficulty finding tenants for the abattoir site and existing shopkeepers are struggling to make a living?

And what of the proposed flats as part of the Minden Place development. Where will the occupants park their vehicles? Surely not across town at the proposed Ann Court car park. Or will prospective tenants be forbidden to own cars?

The plan is certainly not exciting for the thousands who signed the petition for a town park only now to discover that, once more, politicians have reneged on their promise to deliver what the petition decreed by introducing a housing estate to surround the park which was never the original intention.

And who are these generous benefactors who are to develop the town park at a cost of £9million but without cost to the taxpayer? This smacks of the financial arrangement dreamed up for the so-called national gallery, which never materialised. It also smacks of the Harcourt development, which was to be built at no cost to the public which never materialised. Therefore, until the cash is placed on the table, I for one will remain sceptical.

And what of the huge loss of annual revenue to the States coffers when those hundreds of parking spaces are lost? Who will be obliged to make up the shortfall – the developers or the taxpayers?

Senator Cohen also hints at the prospect of the Odeon becoming what he describes as a ‘cultural centre’ or is this a buzz word for the national gallery, which was proposed for this building by the former director of the Jersey Heritage many moons ago but failed to attract attention perhaps because no one was excited enough.