YOUNG people in St Clement will have to wait two more years for a new youth centre in the parish after an amendment seeking to bring forward Budget funding was rejected.
For the second consecutive year, Deputy Karen Wilson called on ministers to speed up progress on the scheme, with her amendment this year seeking to move £7.5 million worth of funding forward from 2028 and 2029 by two years.
The St Clement representative was highly critical of Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham for failing to deliver on promises made during a visit to the youth centre in her parish, which she said had been earmarked for refurbishment for around a decade.
“The promises we heard 12 months ago were no different to the others over the past yen years,” she said. “A carefully-worded statement designed to conveythe impression of caring but sprinkled with the same kind of rhetoric we have come to expect doesn’t meet the needs of young people [living near Le Squez] – it’s simply not good enough.”
Assistant Education Minister Malcolm Ferey said that the intention was that Le Squez should carry on for another two years while work on a town youth centre was progressed.
Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said that while not in an ideal state, Le Squez was “functional” and the lack of any facility in St Helier had to be a priority. He also expressed concern that the amendment would involve diverting funding for the regeneration of Fort Regent and risk delaying the Fort project.
Deputy Farnham described timing for the work as “a bit difficult” and said that it was regrettable that young people in St Clement would have to “hold on for a little while” before the work at Le Squez could be carried out.
The amendment was defeated by 29-14, with one abstention. This was a similar outcome to the 2024 Budget debate, when Deputy Wilson was defeated by 31-15.
