Douzaine looks forward to working on harbour development plans

This follows a presentation by two members of the agency at its last meeting when a range of options for a large area of the Bridge, from Longue Hougue in the south to near the Vale Castle in the north, were outlined.

Senior Constable Richard Leale said he was grateful to the GDA for spending well over an hour with the douzaine explaining its vision for the area and setting out how its proposals would meet the objectives of its remit, particularly in regards to flood defences, economic development, housing and leisure space and facilities.

"The GDA outlined a broad picture and, as you might expect, there were a range of questions and views expressed on the proposals and the douzaine will be refining these over the next few weeks so we can make a formal response to them."

Mr Leale said he anticipated that the douzaine would want to work with the GDA to ensure that whatever was finally proposed was right for the north of the island, given its existing problems and traffic issues.

Deliverability
"My personal view is that deliverability will be key to this," he said. "We've seen a lot of schemes over years and by and large not much has changed despite the overwhelming need for regeneration in the area.

"We're certainly not negative but the experience with Leale's Yard has hardly been encouraging. Despite the latest plans there being approved last month, Planning has retained its existing 27 conditions and it's hard to see exactly what has changed or when – or if – anything will be built," said Mr Leale.

He remained optimistic that development would start but questioned why everything seemed to take so long in Guernsey.

"We look forward to working with the GDA to achieve enhancements on the Bridge that are proportionate, in keeping with the area and provide real solutions to the problems that we have. Ultimately, however, it will be wasted work unless there's a commitment by the States to make it all happen in a realistic timeframe."