HARCOURT Developments will get the contract to construct the £350 million Esplanade Quarter only if they ‘tick all the right boxes’ with the Treasury Minister and the States.

Senator Terry Le Sueur (pictured) made the statement in an open e-mail – copied to all States Members – following correspondence between members of the Council of Ministers and Senator Jim Perchard over the Waterfront development deal.

Senator Perchard, a former Waterfront Enterprise Board director, began the e-mail exchange by urging Senator Le Sueur to take control of the multi-million pound project, while Senator Ben Shenton pleaded with Environment Minister Freddie Cohen to delay deciding the planning application until a developer has been selected and approved by the Assembly.

Senator Le Sueur – who is the only publicly declared candidate to replace Chief Minister Frank Walker next month – sought to calm Members’ fears by saying that even if the planning application was approved, the developer would have ‘no right whatsoever to start developing the site’.

He said: ‘In order for the developer to start work, they need a signed contract between the parties, and I have already made it clear, but I reiterate, that such a contract will not be signed until I have satisfied myself with certain matters.