A PLANNING application for a memorial garden in St Helier to allow people to remember and reflect on failings in Jersey’s care system and how they affected countless children is expected to be lodged later this year, the JEP has learned.
In the wake of the 2017 Independent Jersey Care Inquiry report, which revealed a catalogue of systemic failures and child abuse spanning several decades, a citizens’ panel made up of abuse survivors was formed which recommended a permanent memorial be established.
A £200,000 budget was agreed and shortlisted designs for the artwork – originally to be constructed at the Weighbridge – were unveiled.
However, the move provoked a fierce backlash, with some abuse survivors arguing that they did not want a permanent reminder of the trauma and horrors they suffered, particularly in such a prominent and unavoidable location. A petition calling for that project to be abandoned gathered around 3,000 signatures, while a protest against the plans, held at the Weighbridge, was led by anti-abuse advocate Cheyenne O’Connor.
Miss O’Connor, who is now part of the Jersey Community Partnership, which provides support to survivors, has confirmed that the Weighbridge plans are now off the table and a site at La Collette Gardens, near the Territorial Army barracks, has been found for a memorial garden.
She added that proposals were now being drawn up and that she expected a formal application to be lodged before the end of the year.
‘It was agreed we would look at something that wasn’t so in your face and was easily accessible but could be avoided if needs be,’ Miss O’Connor said. ‘We’ve come up with a completely new design which can’t upset anyone.
‘It still has to go through the planning process, but we’re confident that it will be agreed. We have given the design to the person who runs the garden to get properly drawn up and given to planning.’
She added: ‘When the protest happened, all the survivors that reached out who wanted to speak out all had the option to have their say [about the new plans]. It will be completely public and there will be a big opening for it. It is fully accessible and there is parking but it is also completely out of the way.’
Miss O’Connor also said that she was in the process of helping set up a new social enterprise for abuse survivors and was recruiting directors.
‘It will be about providing ongoing support for survivors and giving them the things they want – things like art class therapy and music therapy, peer-support groups and one-to-one support.
‘We’re also looking to have a constant phone line for survivors to call. We want to put all that in one place, because there is not something like that currently on offer in the Island.’
Anyone interested in finding out more about the enterprise or being a director is invited to email cheyenne@jerseycommunitypartnership.org before Friday.
