Fields 848, 851 and 853, Bel Royal, St. Lawrence Committee of Inquiry – appointment of members

STATES OF JERSEY

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FIELDS 848, 851 AND 853, BEL ROYAL, ST.  LAWRENCE: COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY – APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS

Lodged au Greffe on 13th June 2007 by the Connétable of St. Lawrence

STATES GREFFE

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

to re f er to their Act dated 2nd May 2007 in which they agreed to approve the appointment of a Committee

of Inquiry to investigate fully the circumstances relating to the development of Fields 848, 851 and 853, Bel Royal, St.  Lawrence and –

(a ) to appoint the following persons as members of the Committee of Inquiry –

(i ) M  r s. Carol Elizabeth Canavan (Chairman);

(i i) M r . David James Watkins;

(i ii ) M r . Peter Dawson Cameron.

(b ) to agree, in accordance with Standing Order 146(5)(b) and (c) –

(i ) t h at Mr. Watkins shall, if required, preside in the absence of the Chairman; and (i i) t h a t the quorum of the Committee shall be 2.

(c ) to agree that, in addition to the terms of reference for the Committee of Inquiry approved by the

States on 2nd May 2007, the following term of reference be added –

" to in v e s ti g a te th e e ffectiveness of the planning process and the related conditional decision to grant planning permission and subsequent decisions taken by or on behalf of the Minister for Planning and Environment, in relation to securing adequate protection of trees on the site."

CONNÉTABLE OF ST. LAWRENCE

REPORT

On 2nd May 2007 the States agreed to establish a Committee of Inquiry to investigate fully the circumstances regarding the development of Fields 848, 851 and 853, Bel Royal, St. Lawrence.

I am now pleased to be able to recommend to the States the membership of the Committee of Inquiry. Mrs. Canavan has experience of independently chairing investigations and has legal experience both within the States and as a partner in a law firm. Mr. Watkins has held very senior positions in business in the Island and elsewhere and is aware of procedures and the funding requirements and complexities involved in large and complex property developments. Mr. Cameron was a well-known and respected building contractor in the Island for very many years and is very aware of the issues involved in bringing such contracts to a successful conclusion, particularly in relation to the planning requirements. I am very grateful to all three of these extremely experienced people who have volunteered their services to carry out this very important role.

Financial and manpower implications

The Minister for Treasury and Resources has confirmed that the Committee of Inquiry will be funded, up to a maximum of £15,000, from the cash limit of the Planning and Environment Department. The Department will endeavour to accommodate this cost and remain within its cash limit. However, should it be unable to do so the Minister for Treasury and Resources has given an undertaking to underwrite any overspend up to £15,000 from unspent balances elsewhere.

The Committee of Inquiry will need executive and administrative support. Discussions will take place with the Chairman once the Committee is established to ascertain the level of support required and whether this can be provided from an existing States employee or whether a temporary member of staff will need to be recruited.

APPENDIX

Biographies

Mrs. Carol Elizabeth Canavan

Mrs. Canavan, a Jersey écrivain or solicitor, is a co-founder of and was a partner in Crill Canavan. She is now a consultant to that firm. She was employed in the Judicial Greffe from 1976 – 1984, initially as a Legal Trainee and ultimately as Assistant Greffier, before moving to Crills, where she remained until 1992. She is currently Honorary Secretary of the Jersey Law Society.

Mr. David James Watkins

Mr. David James Watkins retired as Island Director of Lloyds Bank, and was a member of a previous Working Party to consider the relationship between the States and the parishes in the provision of services to the public.

Mr. Peter Dawson Cameron

After attending school in Jersey, Mr. Cameron was involved in electrical engineering in Jersey and Australia. He returned to the Island and established his own very successful building and civil engineering company in 1957. He has close on 40 years' experience of dealing with planning issues. He retired from and sold Camerons Ltd. in 1993. He still has some family property holding interests.