Leale's Yard set-back 'disappointing and unhelpful' says parish

Senior Constable Richard Leale said douzeniers and parishioners were still trying to understand what was really behind the unexpected announcement by the States not to go ahead with the project, which would have seen more than 300 new homes created in the Vale and St Sampson's. 

"The letter P&R sent to States members, which was published by the Guernsey Press, suggests there's more to this decision than we're aware of," said Mr Leale, "but this is nevertheless a disappointing and unhelpful decision for the north of the island and Guernsey generally."

He said the parish and douzaine did not want to get drawn into the politics of the decision but housing had been identified as a crisis for the island and Leale's Yard provided an obvious and quick partial solution to the problem, and had been backed by Planners.

Crisis
"Yes, we had well-documented reservations about traffic and infrastructure issues with Leale's Yard but accepted that in a crisis action needs to be taken – and that could have happened here.

"Instead, P&R appears to be saying more housing and regeneration of the Bridge area generally can be achieved through Guernsey Development Agency proposals, which are years away from approval or receiving funding," he said. 

Its plans, pictured above, depend on a large area of seabed being reclaimed off Black Rock, which will take 12-15 years if the States approve the plan.

"From the Douzaine's perspective, while there were some disadvantages with Leale's Yard, at least it was deliverable in a realistic timescale. Now, there's no certainty any regeneration will go ahead for the next 20 years or longer," said Mr Leale.