THE States have given approval for the government to buy an empty café and car park at Grève de Lecq – but what price the public is prepared to pay remains unclear.
This week, States Members gave their firm backing to a proposal by Deputy Lyndon Farnham to ask Treasury Minister Ian Gorst and Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet to negotiate the purchase of the former Seaside Café and its large, currently fenced off car park, which used to be free for public use.
However, words added by an accepted amendment put forward by Deputy Lucy Stephenson – to ensure that any negotiated price ‘represents value for money’ – has prompted some politicians to question what that means, including a member of the negotiation team.
Deputy Binet described the proposition as a ‘dog’s dinner’ during the debate and called on Members to leave out the ‘value for money’ reference, so as not to tie his hands when dealing with the site’s owner, whom he described as ‘extremely commercially minded’.
However, Members voted the proposal through in its entirety by 32 to ten. Deputy Gorst said that talks would not be ‘easy or straightforward’ but ‘that is not to say the task should not be started upon’.
The site is currently on the market for £5 million undeveloped or £11m with a four-bedroom house and 100-seat café built on it, which already have planning permission.
Speaking to the JEP after the vote, Deputy Binet said that ‘value for money’ was a highly subjective concept which would be impossible to quantify in a negotiation between buyer and seller.
‘At the end of the day, Deputy Gorst and I will strive to get the best deal we can for the public and then return to the Assembly with a figure. It will then be for the Assembly to determine if that is value for money,’ he said.
He added that he had already been working behind the scenes with the site owner, who purchased it in 2020, to secure a sale. He added, personally, he had mixed feelings on the issue, recognising the need to balance protecting public access at Grève de Lecq with other demands for funding.
Deputy Farnham said he was pleased with Wednesday’s result.
‘The government now have a solid mandate to get on with the process of acquiring the land and get the transaction approved,’ he said.
‘It is far better in the ownership of the public for the benefit of the public than a large single, privately owned dwelling.’
He added: ‘I am pleased that we can get on with negotiation and I very much hope that the government can make progress over the summer and come back with a good deal early in the next political term.’
The National Trust for Jersey, which had given its support to Deputy Farnham, said after the vote that they were ‘delighted to see that the proposition was successful and that the States Assembly has recognised the value of protecting strategic coastal sites both now and in the future for the benefit of our community’.
Any sale will have to be approved by the Assembly before money changes hands.
