The clamour for more office blocks is the last thing this Island needs

From Alan West Gillham

IF ever there was anything the Island needed less, it was the totally ill-conceived idea of the Esplanade Square.

The whole harbour area development has been nothing but a mare’s nest thus far and, whereas it is only to be expected, the recently appointed Stephen Izatt would be keen to resurrect the project since it would be a means of prolonging the life of that benighted orphan, the WEB.

An issue which should only be determined by an Islandwide referendum is the Esplanade Square.

It is no wonder that whenever the proposed development is portrayed in print its magnitude is ‘minimalised’ by showing every building fully lighted inside. Equivalent to the old architectural ploy ‘there’s nothing which ivy will not cure in time’.

Unfortunately, this is too serious a situation for such gimmickry, apart from the dire state of utter chaos which will prevail for at least five years.

Should Islanders be expected to tolerate another teeth-gnashing experience such as the current Victoria Avenue debacle, and for half a decade?

As to need, unfortunately, there is considerable empty office space available in the Island, but more crucially, the staffing involved would inevitably entail much more immigration and, as every permanent resident (apart from the civil service directly involved, and of course WEB), would profoundly declare, the current population is as much as the infrastructure, and essentially, the Island’s heritage ambience can possibly maintain, if not to become a concrete jungle as is Gibraltar.

The clamour for more accommodation for the finance industry, (proven over recent times, to be a most fickle beast) is not at all what Jersey needs. John Boothman, he formerly very much of that business, has in recent months summed it up most adequately: there has to be a diversity of businesses – ‘all one’s eggs’ is a disaster waiting to happen.

Regardless of the many pronouncements by Mr Cook et al, as to how highly regarded Jersey is (and it is, of course, to his/their long term advantage that it should, much of the world is in a constant state of flux (NB Greece, the euro) and, the term ‘tax haven’ continues to be a dirty word in eyes of many.

Don’t let us fool ourselves with grandiose clichés. The brutal facts of life do not support them.

I also have to say that I am amazed John Henwood (is this not a question of gamekeeper/poacher?) should be surprised that it is virtually impossible to obtain detailed financial information from ministers.

Unfortunately, the behind the scenes portrayal of TV Comedy ‘Yes Minister’, is nearer reality than many would wish us to know. The timidity of our elected representatives in facing up to the Jersey equivalent of UK mandarins has been too recently evident – regarding the ‘overlooked’ currency hedging on the new incinerator contract and the ‘need to move on’ regarding the death of the nurse during a ‘routine operation’.

In the private sector, heads would have rolled, if only to serve an essential lesson to others. Further, in view of the stature of the more senior mandarins, one would have expected someone to ‘step up to the plate’.

My old commander, Monty, typically had an apt phrase for it: ‘Would you go into the jungle with this man?’

Starting with our Chief Minister, then his Council, they could achieve a degree of credibility by tackling head-on, as is having to happen in the UK, the totally commercially unviable ‘final salary pensions scheme’, and, with Jersey’s undercurrent of ‘going it alone’, who will bail us out on these pensions funds when, inevitably, the bubble bursts?