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1240/5(3236)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES BY SENATOR B.E. SHENTON
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 27th MARCH 2007
Question
Would the Minister explain in detail the rationale behind his original decision to offer for sale the Mont Mado quarry exclusively to three neighbours rather than place the property on the open market to achieve the best price for the Jersey taxpayer?
Answer
The 2006 States Property Plan, approved by the States in June 2006, explicitly states that appropriate methods of disposal will be used according to individual circumstances. In this particular case it was appropriate in the first instance to limit the invitation to tender to the three parties who have a particular interest in the site. Two of those are the owners of adjacent properties and the third was the previous lessee of the quarry.
There are legal restrictions in regard to claimed rights of way and rights to lay services using the current access roadway to the site, which is in the ownership of one of those parties. Although alternative access to the site might be possible from La Ruette de la Carriere, the previous Constable of St John had indicated that the Roads Committee was not in a position to approve such access without benefit of a development proposal.
The select tender process should have achieved full value for the site as the identified parties who submitted tenders have more to gain than those with no rights to or legal interest in the site. However, the highest tender received did not reflect what the Minister believed the potential value of the site might be and it was therefore decided to proceed by re-advertising on an open tender basis.