Le Squez Youth Centre

WQ.248/2025

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

BY DEPUTY K.M. WILSON OF ST. CLEMENT

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY 27th MAY 2025

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 3rd JUNE 2025

Question

"Further to the approved business case in 2023 supporting the redevelopment of Le Squez Youth Centre and the subsequent reprioritisation of the St. Helier Youth Centre, will the Chief Minister provide the following information regarding the Le Squez Youth Centre project –

1. what design options are currently being considered;
2. when will a decision be made on the preferred design, or if a decision has already been made, which of the preferred designs underpinning the business case will be taken forward;
3. what progress, if any, has been made in relation to the finalising of plans and the feasibility, planning and procurement of the scheme, and when will such plans be made public;
4. details of how the scheme will be funded to ensure the revised 2027 delivery date; and
5. whether the Council of Ministers remain committed to delivering the full scope of the Le Squez development as originally approved in the business case in 2023 and, if not, why not?"

Answer

1. What design options are currently being considered;

Officers from CYPES, Jersey Youth Service and Jersey Property Holdings have undertaken some feasibility work on various options. The original proposal would have incurred major disruption to the operation of Le Squez Youth Centre and the Youth Work offer, so officers will be undertaking a further review of the options to make sure value for money is achieved and that once any building works start, there is no disruption to the Le Squez Youth Centre.

2. When will a decision be made on the preferred design, or if a decision has already been made, which of the preferred designs underpinning the business case will be taken forward;

I am awaiting an update from officers before considering design options, and following this, CYPES officers will re-engage with Jersey Property Holdings to undertake further feasibility and design work. Any decision made on the final option will be in consultation with the Youth Project Committee and other key stakeholders, which will need to be factored into the timeline. I am, therefore, not currently able to confirm when this decision will be made.

I am of course happy to update States members on the delivery of this project as soon as I can, once these matters have been fully considered.

3. What progress, if any, has been made in relation to the finalising of plans and the feasibility, planning and procurement of the scheme, and when will such plans be made public;

Further feasibility work, building design, update of plans, public consultation and all the other work that is required before a planning application can be submitted will take approximately 12 months. This is now anticipated to be complete during 2026.

I am initiating conversations to consider utilising existing funds from CYPES capital budget, to begin building design work for this planning application and to help progress this project as far as possible within the current delivery timeframe.

4. Details of how the scheme will be funded to ensure the revised 2027 delivery date; and

At this time I am not able to confirm how the scheme will be funded, as the full costs of this capital project are not established.

5. Whether the Council of Ministers remain committed to delivering the full scope of the Le Squez development as originally approved in the business case in 2023 and, if not, why not?"

I will continue to keep the Council of Ministers informed of the progress for Le Squez as work develops and we will keep the Le Squez Youth Centre within the Captial programme.

 It is important that the sequencing of any development is carried out in such a way that we continue to maintain the existing youth facility in the Le Squez area while projects that serve the north of Town are being developed.