PLANS for an £80 million transformation of Fort Regent – which the Infrastructure Minister hopes could be approved within two years – are set to be announced.
Deputy Andy Jehan told the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel that he would be sharing “exciting” plans which include a permanent skate park, play areas and visitor facilities with fellow ministers in the coming weeks. But he said costs to run and maintain a revitalised Fort Regent were still unconfirmed – and the fate of the plans rested with a States Assembly vote.
Proposals lodged by the John Le Fondré government to overhaul the Fort were scrapped by Deputy Kristina Moore’s Council of Ministers for being “unfeasible in the current economic climate”.
The plans, which were to take shape over ten years, featured proposals for a multi-purpose venue for conferences, sporting events and concerts, alongside a hotel, cinema, ten-pin-bowling alley and casino.
The majority of sports clubs and facilities have since been moved out of the centre.
Speaking during the Scrutiny hearing, Mr Jehan confirmed that neither a hotel nor casino was included in the plans, but he could not rule out a hotel being built there in the future.
He said: “I’ve seen some really exciting plans. They are not elaborate. They are functional. And they are going to require in excess of £80 million worth of investment.
“What worries me most is around the revenue. We’re quite good at finding capital to build new, shiny things, but where we’ve struggled in the past is to maintain these assets of ours.
“We’ve got to be confident [about] what it will cost to run and maintain a revitalised Fort Regent.
“I don’t have those figures to hand at the moment and therefore I don’t know how much money we’ll be seeking to support the operation.”
Mr Jehan said plans would be shared with the Council of Ministers in coming weeks and with the States Assembly shortly after.
On what these could include, he said: “It’s about providing facilities for locals and visitors alike, for all age groups, with some play areas for young children, some activities for youths and a permanent skate park.”
He said it was not possible to commit to delivering Fort Regent or having the site “shovel-ready” before the government term was over in mid-2026.
“We have two years, and I dare say there’s two to three years’ worth of work,” he said. “But I hope that we will have plans and funding approved during my term of office. It will all depend on the Assembly’s support for funding.”
