AN initial £43 million loan to begin regeneration works at Fort Regent will be spent on major stabilisation work, the Jersey Development Company has said as it provided an update on the project.
In a briefing at the empty Fort yesterday, chief executive of the government’s redevelopment arm Lee Henry explained that the first £43 million will be spent on addressing the iconic roof and re-installing core infrastructure across the site such as drainage and substations.
Remaining funds will be utilised to support further designs of the new interior – the figure for which will be debated in the 2027 Budget next winter.
Providing further designs as part of his presentation, Mr Henry explained that the main change to the “high-level” plans was the switching of the position of the planned 2,000-seater concert hall and a six-screen cinema complex.
In the updated concept, the concert hall and sports arena space will sit in the domed Queen’s Hall and the cinema will instead be situated in Gloucester Hall, making it closer to family amenities such as the indoor urban-play and ninja warrior zone.
Mr Henry then went into detail about the next stages of the planning and construction process set to take place in the Grade 1 and Grade 2 Listed space.
As part of the first phase of works, a survey is set to take place from 1 December to assess the presence of asbestos.
Then, just before Christmas, a formal planning application for the strip-out and replacement of the iconic white roof is planned for submission.
Mr Henry added that, subject to the approval of the proposed Budget on 9 December, a site-wide planning application will be submitted on 31 March 2026.
If the roof application is approved, work is expected to commence on 1 June 2026.
Mr Henry said the plan remains to open the regenerated Fort Regent on 31 December 2028.
So far this year, major change at the Fort has already taken place in preparation of the redevelopment project, including the decanting of all Fort users to other sites around the Island.
Oakfield, which opened last month, is now home to several sports clubs and the JDC opened Tinto’s indoor play area on the Waterfront to replace the children’s amenity at the Fort.
