THE head of Harcourt Developments is in the Island today for an emergency meeting to reassure the States and the public about their intentions following the Waterfront fiasco.

A two-hour briefing with States Members was organised to discuss any concerns and to outline the company’s commitment to the £330 million Waterfront finance and residential district.

The chairman of Harcourt Developments, Pat Doherty, was due to meet the Council of Ministers, States Members and the media during his visit.

Mr Doherty (pictured) will no doubt be asked why his company failed to inform States Members about a lawsuit against them until after the Waterfront debate.

The emergency meeting comes after a week of political fall-out following the Waterfront debate when, hours after passing the scheme, it was admitted that Harcourt faced a lawsuit in Nevada over an £800 million Las Vegas development.

Concerns were also raised about the Irish-based company’s ability to handle the project.

Chief Minister Frank Walker and the Council of Ministers have been threatened with a vote of no confidence and there are also calls for heads to roll at WEB over their handling of the deal.

This morning Deputy Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur said that he hoped that the meeting would clear up any concerns about the preferred developers.

‘I hope there will be a better understanding by States Members of the position that we are in at the current time with the preferred developer,’ he said. ‘A lot has been said over the last week and sometimes things get taken out of perspective. I hope that we can put things back into perspective.’

On 5 June the States approved the financial deal for the £330 million Waterfront development which could give Harcourt the go-ahe ad to develop the Esplanade. But a group of States Members called for the entire Waterfront debate to be brought back to the House following reports of the Las Vegas lawsuit.

Senator Le Sueur stressed that no decision would be made until the States were in possession of all the facts and had up-to-date information about the developers.

‘Although Harcourt is the preferred developer, no contract has been signed, nor will we sign one until we are totally satisfied that all requirements have been fully met,’ he said.