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4.1 Deputy P.J. Rondel of St. John of the Minister for Planning and Environment regarding the total fees paid to Hopkins Architects Limited to date by the Planning and Environment Department:
Will the Minister inform Members of the total fees which have been paid to Hopkins Architects Limited to date by the Planning and Environment Department and advise as to how many staff hours on the Island this relates?
Senator F.E. Cohen (The Minister for Planning and Environment):
Since May 2006 the Planning and Environment Department has paid Sir Michael
Hopkins' practice a total of £268,000 for their work on the Esplanade Quarter master
plan. However, the planning application fees received by the Planning Department as
a direct result of that master plan already total £400,000 with much more to come. I
reported to the States on 2nd July 2008 that the fees for the master plan at that time were around £250,000 so it is not fundamentally different. I have previously explained the imperative was always that the States paid for the master plan so that we owned the copyright. This means that should the States choose not to contract with a particular developer, we will be able to deal with an alternative developer. In addition to this, Hopkins have been paid a total of just over £102,000 for architectural advisory work on other schemes. Of this, almost £87,000 has already been repaid to the department by the developer contributions and the remainder will be repaid in the near future. The total number of hours worked by Hopkins is nearly 4,000 hours. We cannot say how many of these hours were worked on Island. Thank you.
- The Deputy of St. John :
Given the Minister mentions other schemes, could he tell us which other schemes he is referring to and would one of them be the Energy from Waste plant? Further to that, are Hopkins Associates
The Deputy Bailiff :
I am sorry, one question.
The Deputy of St. John :
It is a continuation, Sir.
The Deputy Bailiff :
No, it is not. It is a different matter you are coming on to. Senator F.E. Cohen:
Hopkins Architects were effectively the architects for the envelope of the Energy from Waste plant, but that is not included in my figures because presumably they will have been paid directly by Transport and Technical Services.
- The Deputy of St. John :
Are Hopkins registered on the Island and are they registered with the Regulation of Undertakings and Development to operate on the Island and also registered with the Royal Court, given I do not see their name in the Register of Architects for Jersey, which is up to date and which I got from the Greffier in the last week?
Senator F.E. Cohen:
There is no intention to suggest that Hopkins Architects are members of the Association of Jersey Architects. They certainly are not members of the Association of Jersey Architects and they operate as specialist architectural consultants. I am not aware of whether they are registered or not under the Regulation of Undertakings and Development as that is not my domain.
- Senator B.E. Shenton:
While the Minister's answer may be factually correct, is it not the case that W.E.B. (Waterfront Enterprise Board) have paid fees to Hopkins substantially in excess of the figure he quoted and that the total cost of Hopkins is approaching over £1 million?
Senator F.E. Cohen:
No, I do not believe that is correct. I think that the Senator is perhaps incorporating in the figure the amount that Hopkins will have been paid by the present preferred developer in relation to the planning application, but that is not a matter for the Planning Department and I do not know the precise figures involved.
The Deputy Bailiff :
Final question, Deputy ?
- The Deputy of St. John :
Yes. Given the Minister's reply on the registration of the architects, can it be right at a time of recession within the Island to be employing architects from off the Island when the expertise is within the Island to do this work? I have heard the comments made on many occasions that they are worldwide architects. We have equally able members of the architect profession within the Island who work off-Island. Therefore, is the Minister going to continue his stance on promoting off-Island architects to work in Jersey?
Senator F.E. Cohen:
The Deputy knows perfectly well that that is not my stance. My position is very simple; this is a major master planning exercise. Master planning is a very specialist skill. Hopkins Architects are one of the world's leaders as master planners and if you want a top job, you get a top practice. I am absolutely confident that the choice of Hopkins Architects was an excellent choice and when they were appointed we were not in a downturn. Thank you.