Let’s leave the finance quarter plan on the shelf a bit longer

Part of the reason, of course, is that the Irish developers who were in line to complete it, Harcourt, were unable to produce sufficient financial backing to persuade the States that they should be entrusted with building £350 million of prime real estate – although as reported this week, they are adamant that they have kept within the original terms of the contract.

Another reason is that just when the plans were beginning to attract some real punters, along came the recession, leaving most of the financial institutions who had thought about taking up new premises with other, more pressing, concerns. Since around 2007, moving to new buildings has been something of a side issue, with more effort concentrated on keeping costs down, shedding jobs and surviving the downturn.

But now that economies are beginning to change tack, the Waterfront Enterprise Board has decided that it might be a good time to restate their original aim: to develop ‘a structured, purpose-built business district that will become the focal point of the Island’s finance industry’.

Just in case you might have forgotten, the original ‘master plan’ issued in 2007 included, among other things, 14 office blocks linked by atria around a central public space. Up to 35 per cent of the original plans were earmarked for residential use, with cafés, restaurants and shops, and 1,000 car parking spaces, of which half would be available to the general public.

All the details are still on the website of BNP Paribas Real Estate (formerly Barnes Daniels), who have been marketing the plans from the start.

Unfortunately, there are some major question marks still hanging over the project.

The first is the underground roadway, which will take up to ten years to construct and which has raised some concerns about potentially rising water levels in an area which used to be covered by sea.

The second question mark is the benefit of constructing more new offices when there are still some going spare around town. (Am I dreaming, or is the office block just past Green Street still up for grabs?)

And the third concerns the longer-term viability of a raft of an industry which is still crawling out of a recession and whose profit margins, albeit much healthier than they were, are only looking good compared with the loss-makers of yesteryear.

Add to that the vision of Imagine Jersey (remember that consultation?). Does the Waterfront Enterprise Board really think that 14 office blocks, three more blocks of flats (Castle Quay Phase 2), plus the ‘Zephyrus’ development (whatever that consists of), and the pièce de resistance of the hulking La Collette energy-from-waste plant really reflect what most Island residents really wanted the Waterfront to look like?

For once, I heartily congratulate the Planning department for sitting on their heels. This is a project that really needs to stay on the shelf for a good while longer.

Transport Minister oils the wheels of progress

TRANSPORT Minister Mike Jackson has inspired me this week – not just once, but twice.

Firstly, I wholeheartedly applaud his comments about the Island bus service. For far too long we have tolerated a bus timetable that was conceived in the dark ages, when people went about their business only within the hours of daylight.

With the advent of electricity, however, it is now possible to continue our activities even when darkness has fallen – but not as far as the buses are concerned. Anyone who works beyond the 5 pm mark is doomed to either walking home, cadging a lift, or using a vehicle of their own – which is why we have so many cars on the roads.

This bottleneck seems to have been avoided in other areas that I have visited. In Caen, for instance, there is a tram service to the outlying suburbs, and very well used it is, too. In fact, I have never been to any other place where the bus service by and large comes to a halt at 7 pm every evening and is practically non-existent on Sundays.

If the public of the Island are to be moved out of their lethargy and motivated to use public transport, it will have to work during the hours that they wish to use it.

The traffic problems are, of course, even more acute at the moment because of the extensive road works dogging not only the Avenue, but also the foot of Queen’s Road as well. Getting to and from St Aubin from town during a weeknight is hell – and the return journey is even worse because, come 8 pm or so, the Avenue has been closed completely, with all traffic coming into town having to use the Inner Road.

Which brings me to Mr Jackson’s second inspirational theme: his protest against Deputy Phil Rondel’s proposal to bring back cycle licences.

If the objective is to encourage people to take up cycling instead of driving their seven-seater replacement buses around, introducing licences will not be the way to do it. And heaven help us if said licences needed updating – it is bad enough trying to renew an ordinary driving licence.

However, if the licence fees were to be used for a specific purpose – for instance, extending the cycle networks and bringing in more cycle lanes on major roads – then I might be persuaded to contribute.

I’m waiting eagerly for the new cycle route to the east of the Island – I’ll be one of the first to try it out. More of the same, please.