REDECORATION and repairs to the outside of the Lido have cost more than £157,000 over the past six months but the results have prompted a St Helier Deputy and advocate for the historic pool to question the “calibre of work” carried out.
Deputy David Warr raised concerns about the quality of the external paintwork at the bathing pool and said taxpayers should be “hugely concerned”.
And the government has admitted it is “not happy” with the work and has contacted the contractors to “rectify” the situation.
In October, the Council of Ministers said “significant” sums of public money had gone towards the Lido in recent years, “with £500,000 being spent in the current year in order to maintain and improve its infrastructure”.
In a recent written question, Deputy Warr asked Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan for a breakdown of the expenditure over the past six months.
Mr Jehan revealed that just over £76,000 remained to be used of the “total commitment” of around £495,000.
The spending so far has ranged from electrical works to pool repairs and fire risk assessments, including over £157,000 on “external redecoration and repairs”, out of a £230,000 budget for this specific work.
Noting “the huge sums of money invested in this high-profile site”, Deputy Warr said: “All taxpayers should be hugely concerned when they see the calibre of work that’s been done at the Lido.”
It is not the first time that management of the site has sparked debate in recent months.
Following a protest in the Royal Square in October, it was confirmed that current operator Marcus Calvani, of BeServed, will be able to remain at the Lido until the end of this year.
He had previously been told to end operations there by the end of that month, with ministers arguing that taking vacant possession of the site was necessary to give it a “fresh start”.
The government has sought expressions of interest from prospective new operators amid wider debate over the area’s future.
Mr Calvani also raised the paintwork issue in a social media post, in which he asked Islanders if they were “happy with your tax money being spent and managed like this”.
Mr Jehan said: “We are not happy with the quality of the work and that is why we have contacted the contractors last Tuesday. We are waiting for them to rectify it.”
La Vallette
- It has been suggested that the La Vallette bathing pools in St Peter Port could be a model for Jersey to follow.
- Representatives from Jersey have visited Guernsey to learn more about the pools, where responsibility is shared between the government and a not-for-profit charity.
- Deputy Warr previously told the JEP there were strong similarities between the situation in the Island and the one faced by Guernsey in 2018, when La Vallette was “crumbling and did not have the levels of investment required”.
