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STATES OF JERSEY
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LA POUQUELAYE OLD SCHOOL SITE: PURCHASE
Lodged au Greffe on 23rd April 2007 by the Connétable of St. Helier
STATES GREFFE
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
(a ) to authorise on behalf of the Public the sale of the site of the former La Pouquelaye School as
shown on Drawing Number ASC 1 to the Parish of St. Helier, for the restricted use as a youth and community centre, at a price to be agreed by the Minister for Treasury and Resources that reflects such restriction, together with an appropriate safeguard to protect and compensate the States should the site be sold or commercially redeveloped at a later date, with each party to be responsible for their own legal fees;
(b ) to authorise the Attorney General and the Greffier of the States to pass on behalf of the Public any
contracts which might be found necessary to pass in connection with the said land and any interest therein; and
(c ) to authorise the Treasurer of the States to receive any payment in connection with the sale of the
said land and any interest therein.
CONNÉTABLE OF ST. HELIER
REPORT
The Connétable originally approached the States in the late spring of 2005 to allow the Parish to utilise the old school site at La Pouquelaye when it became vacant after the School's move to the newly constructed D'Auvergne School premises.
This was mainly in order to trial a youth and community centre to provide much-needed facilities for this highly residential area; it would also serve to protect the property from vandalism by providing a site presence until the future use of the site had been determined.
Discussions with Property Services secured a 6 month lease on the site for the Parish on a peppercorn rent to trial the youth and community centre. This period of time proved inadequate to trial the facility and accordingly the Parish sought and were granted an extension to that period from Property Services.
As a condition of such extension the Parish was asked to confirm its intentions with regard to the premises because Property Services had included this site in a portfolio for future sale. They indicated that the site would be offered for sale on the open market for private housing to realise a maximum return somewhere in the region of £2 million.
The Parish is unsure to this day if there are any restrictive conditions put on this site to retain it for community usage. It is, however, of the opinion that it should be retained for this purpose because there is a distinct lack of any community facilities in this area. The Parish has approached Property Services on this basis to establish whether they would still be seeking maximum value for the site but their position has not changed.
In an endeavour to take this forward the Parish has obtained professional valuations for this site on the basis of both an open market value and a value if the site were restricted to community usage only. It has been confirmed that the value of the site when restricted to community usage only is considerably lower than the open market value of the site. The open market value was assessed at £1.85 million and the restricted usage value was put between £250,000 and £300,000 if used solely as a community facility.
At a Parish Assembly held on 27th March the Parish confirmed its wish to use this site solely for the purpose of providing a much-needed youth and community centre to this area.
The Parish seeks no profit from this venture but looks for the centre to pay its own way. The buildings are approaching the end of their useful life and accordingly are not of any significant value. They are, in fact, likely to require some injection of funds in the future to maintain them in an acceptable condition for the proposed usage.
The Parish wishes to purchase the site for a sum to be agreed with the Minister for Treasury and Resources, based on its continued use as a youth and community centre, with a provision to protect the States to enable them to receive the differential between the purchase and the sale price should the site be sold and/or redeveloped in the future by the Parish.
DRAWING No. ASC 1