Residents may be pleased by the announcement that Lime Grove House will not become a Police Station, given the inevitable noise and impact on the “tone” of Havre des Pas of "Green Street Barracks". Where a new Police Station is to be built remains in doubt.
Certainly this is embarrassing outcome for the Council of Ministers and once again raises questions about their competence to manage governmental affairs.
Lime Grove House has been sitting empty for many years, primarily because of the owners’ inept business acumen. It was built just as the focus of financial activity shifted to the Waterfront “City” and was overpriced for then prevailing market conditions. The owners will no doubt be please to get rid of their white elephant. One cannot imagine what sort of financial services business would move there unless the terms were severely discounted. This makes it all the more galling that the Council of Ministers should announce a deal and then for it to fall through.
Egg on faces all round.
The government spin machine dealt with the debacle in a short matter of fact press announcement. Positive politics for Jersey, eh?.
Of course this building should never have been built at all because there never was a tenant or occupier. The negotiations went on for years with the Planning Dept so there are no valid excuses. Freddie Cohen assured the States that he would not grant any permits for future offices without a proven demand when he was pitching for the Ministerial office but changed his tune once elected.
ReplyDeleteOzouf and his gang are just itching to commit to an office building GROWTH bonanza under the guise of the Jersey Development Company (WEB by any other name). They want to rationalise all States' offices by redevelopment and one whopping central States building on the Waterfront. The sucker public will then be committed to paying inflated rents under a crazy lease-back arrangemnt for centuries to come. Existing publicly owned properties will be sold off to lucky developers to build yet more iconic carbuncles - no doubt including a super-duper Police/Fire and Ambulance HQ on a PPP deal with joe public paying a fee whenever the police, ambulance or fire officers responmd to a call!
Astute voters will have noticed that there is also a live plan to build a new hospital at an estimated cost of £300 millions whilst GPs are expected to provide more and more treatments on their own premises and the long term sick are to care for themselves at home!
The especially astute voters of
DISTRICT 1 St Helier will have noticed that all this lucrative development activity will almost certainly take place in DISTRICT 1 - Happy days and nights!!!!!