DETAILS of a project to transform Fort Regent into a “vibrant, modern destination for socialising, entertainment and recreation” have been unveiled.
Costed at £110 million and timetabled to be completed in less than four years, the scheme will include a 2,500-capacity acoustic theatre, an entertainment complex with six-screen cinema and ten-pin bowling and an arts and culture hub – a rooftop bar has also been proposed.
A strong emphasis on activities for children and young people will include a skatepark, a play and heritage trail, a track for BMX riders and mountain bikers and a 3×3 ball court.
Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said the intention was to restore Fort Regent’s reputation as “the Island’s premier family leisure and entertainment venue with a wide range of activities, including sport”.
The government will work in collaboration with its property development arm, the Jersey Development Company on the project, which will be the subject of a consultation exercise over the next seven weeks.
Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham said: “I look forward to hearing Islanders’ views during the consultation process and to seeing Fort Regent fully revitalised as a vibrant social hub at the heart of Island life.”
Subject to endorsement and the approval of the States Assembly, the first of three planning applications is set to be lodged in August of this year, followed two months later by further elements of the enabling works.
Once the Fort is cleared and closed by the end of this year, a final application covering the details of the scheme is due to be submitted next February, with construction potentially starting in April 2026.
A hotel on the site of the former swimming pool is also a potential part of the project, although this would be privately-financed.
Improved access to the site has also been emphasised as a priority by ministers, with an extension of the lifts serving Pier Road car park to provide a direct link to the Fort.
There is also the prospect of the reintroduction of a cable car, although Mr Jehan stressed sustainability was a key element, both for this element and the scheme as a whole.
“The cost of the cable car is included in the overall [£110m] estimate for the scheme, but it’s got to be sustainable and we need to look at the running costs and to ask people how much they’d pay to use it,” he said.
“There’s definitely a nostalgic element to it, but people managed to get to events at the Fort for a long time after the cable car stopped.”
