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STATES OF JERSEY
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MILLENNIUM TOWN PARK: ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRUST (P.169/2005) – COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 27th September 2005 by the Policy and Resources Committee
STATES GREFFE
COMMENTS
The Policy and Resources Committee strongly supports the development of a Town Park on the Gasworks/Talman site, and it accepts that the delays in development have been unfortunate. The Committee believes that the project should be given a high priority and brought forward as soon as realistically possible.
At a recent Waterfront workshop attended by States' Members and members of the public, there was a consensus that in order to secure the future vitality of the town, the development and regeneration of St. Helier , including the Town Park, must proceed in tandem with the development of the Waterfront. The Policy and Resources Committee has proposed that a Task Group should be set up to oversee the creation of a revised Centre Ville organisation and a master plan for the town as a whole, including the Town Park.
As a result of this initiative, the Policy and Resources Committee believes that little would be served at this stage by forming a trust to take forward the Town Park. There is a need to address the wider interests of St. Helier , in both the short and long term, and to agree the creation of a trust at this point would restrict the opportunity of the Task Group to achieve the best possible outcome.
The Task Group will be led by the Chief Minister, the Planning and Environment Minister, the Transport and Technical Services Minister, the Connétable of St Helier and the Chairman of Centre Ville and will be charged with bringing a widely considered master plan to the States within 12 months. In developing such a master plan the Task Group will work with WEB, States Members, the public and a wide range of interest groups. In order to move things forward, the Task Group will be set up in the next couple of weeks, and will consist of the Presidents of Policy and Resources and Planning and Environment, together with the Connétable of St. Helier .
In the meantime, a survey is currently being undertaken of the Gasworks/Talman site in order to establish the extent of land contamination and develop a strategy for remediation, and this work needs to be completed before any further development can proceed.
In view of the above, the Policy and Resources Committee believes that it would be premature for the States to take a decision at this time about whether or not a trust should be established to take forward the development of a Town Park. The Committee would certainly have reservations about whether this is the best type of arrangement for carrying forward the project, and indeed it could be argued that this type of arm's length arrangement would simply create another layer of bureaucracy.
The Committee therefore recommends that the proposition be rejected at this time.