DISAGREEMENTS between the States and its preferred developer at the Waterfront were aired in public yesterday.

Transport and Technical Services argued that the developer, Harcourt, must supply 120 more temporary car parking spaces than Harcourt was proposing to provide over the three years that it will take to build a road and tunnel at the Waterfront. And the Transport department insisted that work carried out on the tunnel must be carried out to its satisfaction. On day four of a public inquiry into the £350 million Esplanade Quarter, Transport chief executive John Richardson would not budge on his requirement of 320 temporary car parking spaces.

He said that the loss of 525 car parking spaces at the Esplanade car park would have to be made up with spare capacity at Sand Street and Pier Road, and 320 temporary spaces provided by the Harcourt.
The developer said that this would cause a ‘major challenge’ for the company, adding that they would appeal for a number that was ‘adequate rather than a safe number’. Harcourt’s engineering consultant firm Faber Maunsell said that the firm did a count of free spaces in Pier Road, Patriotic Street and Sand Street car parks yesterday and it estimated that Harcourt would only need to provide 200 extra spaces.

But Mr Richardson argued that this week was half-term and could not be used as an appropriate measure.

Pictured: The Esplanade car park will disappear when work at Esplanade Quarter begins. The development will have an underground car park but parking arrangements over the three years of construction remain unresolved