A BID to halt the sale of the former Aviemore children’s home to the States-owned Jersey Development Company was defeated in the States Assembly yesterday.
Deputy Alex Curtis was seeking support from fellow politicians for his attempt to revoke the sale of the former care facility in St Martin, on which the JDC plans to build up to ten three-bed homes.
The proposition followed the listing of the property for sale in January last year, at which point offers of “in excess of £3 million” were invited. The transaction with JDC was subsequently approved for £1.3m.
Opening the debate, Deputy Curtis said there were two elements of risk to the JDC proposals: that money might be spent on plans which were then aborted, or that the yield from any development would be lower than anticipated.
The St Clement representative pointed out that the government had found the money to buy the Seaside Café at Grève de Lecq, and said that the same approach should lead to a public benefit from the Aviemore site.
Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said the sale to JDC would achieve the best value for taxpayers, adding that market conditions had changed since the valuation of the site for £3m.
Although he conceded that the initial report about the sale had not provided sufficient detail, Mr Jehan said that this information had since been made available and urged Members to avoid further “unnecessary delay”.
The proceeds of the sale could eventually rise to £2.5m, ministers claimed, with plans to use the money to create an endowment fund benefitting those with experience of being in care.
The Constable of St Martin, Karen Stone, said she did not consider the land to be a prime site for housing, and that there were many other potential uses – “much-needed” sports facilities for the east of the Island was one idea that she put forward.
Deputy Karen Wilson was among those supporting Deputy Curtis. “This is not the time to sell off the Island’s silver at bargain basement rates,” she said.
Deputy Jonathan Renouf said it was “very unfortunate” that ministers had been unable to produce planning advice in favour of the site’s use for housing.
This advice was mentioned in the government’s official response, but Mr Jehan admitted earlier in the debate that he wasn’t able to produce the emails containing this advice.
Warning against delay, Constable Simon Crowcroft recalled the former Jersey College for Girls site in St Helier, which he said had “sat empty for 15 years while people thought they had better ideas”.
“I’m concerned that if we don’t allow the JDC to get on with the job it will be in the long grass for a long time to come,” he added.
Following a debate lasting almost three hours, Members voted against the proposition by 29 votes to 13, with three abstentions.
