A MISLEADING briefing to ministers regarding the Havre des Pas Lido led to the decision to restart the tender process – with the Infrastructure Minister apologising in the States Chamber for the flaws in the process.
After weeks and months of uncertainty and protests over the future of the facility, the saga took another turn yesterday when Andy Jehan confirmed to the States Assembly that he was restarting the tender process in the light of an independent report by Jurat Anthony Olsen.
The report concluded that while the initial phase of the process had been fairly administered, shortcomings were identified in the second phase.
And Deputy David Warr, who has led the campaign to hand the management of the facility to community group Love Our Lido, said he wanted to see accountability for what had happened.
The Assembly had been due to debate a proposition from Deputy Warr which would have the government to withdraw from current negotiations and instead sign an agreement with Love Our Lido, while pledging £170,000 annual funding towards maintenance of the pool.
The debate was delayed pending the outcome of the independent review, and speculation ramped up overnight on Thursday when rumours started to circulate that Deputy Warr had been asked by ministers to withdraw and that Mr Jehan would be making a statement to the Assembly.
Yesterday, Mr Jehan informed Members he was withdrawing the decision to award a lease for the Havre des Pas bathing pool and café to First Point, and restarting the second phase under independent oversight led by Jersey Business.
Negotiations would recommence with the other party involved in the tender process – Love Our Lido – he added, with the aim of agreeing a lease by the end of January 2026.
The minister conceded that a key element of the concern raised in the report related to a briefing to ministers made by Tim Daniels, director of Jersey Property Holdings.
Mr Daniels stated that a key element of the decision to award the contract to First Point was the failure of Love Our Lido to secure charitable status, prompting its withdrawal from the process.
The Infrastructure Minister conceded that this briefing had been misleading, with Love Our Lido having not made an application to become a charity – and that the organisation had been removed from the process, rather than withdrawing.
“It is clear that mistakes have been made,” he said. “I apologise again for the occasions where erroneous statements have occurred. I emphasise that those mistakes have been genuine and not deliberate.
“Importantly, there is no evidence of any conflicts of interest, and the review praised the independent panel. It found large parts of the process to have been fair and fairly administered. There are, however, aspects where we have fallen short.”
In his report, Jurat Olsen concluded that the statement made by Mr Daniels was “incorrect and liable to mislead the States Assembly” and that this left him “unable to conclude that the second part of the expressions of interest process was fairly conducted”.
Mr Jehan confirmed that the government intended to secure vacant possession of the site by 25 December in order to “to allow the process to be properly concluded and a lease awarded to a new party”, but that this would not stop Islanders using the bathing pool, toilets and changing rooms at the site.
He also confirmed that the financial terms for the negotiation were unchanged, with an annual payment of £60,000 from public funds towards running and maintenance costs.
As he confirmed to the States Assembly that he would be deferring his proposition rather than withdrawing completely, Deputy Warr said he wanted to see accountability for what had happened.
“I’m concerned that there are no political or officer consequences and I think the public will also be very concerned,” he said.
The representative for St Helier South thanked Islanders, notably the community who were users of the bathing pool and café, for their support.
“We’ve had two protests in the Royal Square as well as public meetings,” he said. “The community has been very vociferous and backed me in bringing this proposition and helped uncover something which could easily have been swept under the carpet – we have shone a light in some very dark areas.”
