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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER
BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd MARCH 2010
Question
"1. Will the Chief Minister on behalf of the Waterfront Enterprise Board confirm whether work on the former
Tourism building and Abattoir will be completed in time for Liberation Day 2010 and that the tenants will be in the building by that date?
- W ould the Chief Minister confirm whether thecontractwillbecompleted on time and, if not, give reasons for any delays?
- W hat action, if any, is being taken by the Chief Minister to get this work completed ontime?
- W hatwastheoriginalstart date and proposed handover date of this contract?"
Answer
Under a Development Agreement between WEB and Islands Development Limited ("IDL") IDL have until 13th April 2010 to provide Practical Completion ("PC") of the balance of the development of Liberty Wharf. PC will provide the commercial units to a shell and core specification. It will be for the end tenant to fit out their particular unit which will take place following PC. Whilst IDL has pre-let a significant proportion of the retail and restaurant units, most notably the anchor store to Sandpiper for M&S Home, the timing of the occupation of the remaining units at Liberty Wharf will depend upon the tenant fit out programme. It is hoped that there may be some units occupied in time for Liberation Day 2010 but it is envisaged that the majority will be occupied and trading from early summer 2010.
The Development Agreement was entered into on 14th October 2005 with a completion date for the entire scheme of 14th October 2012. Due to the eventual phasing of the development being undertaken by the developer in a different order, there has been a delay of 1 year in completing this section of the scheme.
The former Island Site remained undeveloped for a considerable period:- the trains stopped running in c.1936; the abattoir relocated in c.1983; Harbour works moved out in c.1989 and Harbours administration moved out in c.1999.
The area is a Site of Special Interest and the development of such sites requires a number of permissions suitable to protect the integrity of these important structures. These permissions take time to secure and the development of such areas invariably takes longer than on an unrestricted site.
It is not a matter for the Chief Minister to become involved in the operational activities of WEB and I have every confidence that the works will be completed in a timely fashion as I have outlined above.