Preparatory work for the project on former agricultural land in St Brelade has begun despite three of the fields – numbered 84, 85 and 80 – earmarked for the project not yet being in government ownership.
Now, Education Minister Tracey Vallois has signed off on the compulsory purchase of the land after the States failed to reach an agreement with the owners. The ministerial decision gives the owners 28 days’ notice until ‘vacant possession will be required’ and the fields fall under the ownership of the States.
Progress in negotiations came to a halt earlier this year when a States report revealed that the owners had upped their asking price from £194,000 to £3.8 million. However, Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis said this was not the case and that talks were ongoing.
The States agreed earlier this year to use compulsory purchase on the three fields on Rue Carrée in St Brelade but only as a ‘last resort’. The owners can still try to reach an agreement with the States before the Friday 19 October deadline.
Senator Vallois said that the cost of forcibly buying the fields could be ‘in excess’ of previously agreed figures and could have a knock-on impact on the overall cost of the new school project.
In her ministerial decision, she said: ‘The minimum time period of 28 days has been requested to ensure the procedure is expedited as efficiently as possible to ensure the said fields are vested in the public in or before 19 October 2018 to ensure construction of the new school can be completed in time for the academic year September 2020.
‘Any delay to this will result in the project slipping by a year (due to the requirement for the school to move during the summer term) and will impact on the education of Les Quennevais pupils and increase the costs to the project (due to construction inflation).’
