Esplanade Quarter backed by inquiry
Tuesday 17th March 2009, 2:59PM GMT.
A PUBLIC inquiry into the £350m Esplanade Quarter has found that the scheme is justified if Jersey wants to compete with other financial jurisdictions.
Despite the credit crunch, Jersey’s first public inquiry has found the scheme to be well thought out and to have the potential to be of a very high standard.
The findings, released this week by independent UK Planning inspectors Chris Shepley and Alan Langton, have supported the plan for the Hopkins-designed financial district.
Although they predict some disruption while Route de la Libération is lowered, they do not think that it will cause ‘gridlock’ as some people had suggested at the inquiry.
• Picture: Alan Langton and Chris Shepley, independent planning inspectors from the UK, at St Paul’s Centre
to present their report. Pictureby Richard Wainwright (00597714)
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And who’s paying their consultation fee? Any wonder then that they are in favour of this development?
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Well of course a review is going to have this outcome, if a referendum was carried out the outcome would probably be very different.
The island is overcrowded with people buildings and cars and all this is going to do is further spoil our island.
The states seem oblivious to the recent news that sea level rises were heavily underestimated and that this area will regularly get very very large puddles. Maybe the sunken road could replace the aquasplash pool, but lets not worry because the decision makers probably won’t be here when this happens.
NO MORE PEOPLE, NO MORE BUILDING.
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The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
Senator Cohen will have to take this plan to the States for final approval and islanders will watch the vote with interest.
If the plan is fine and dandy then it will do members no harm to have voted for it at the next set of elections, on the other hand if it turns out to be a bit of a mess it might be time to dust down the old CV and think about getting another job
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public inquiry has found the scheme to be well thought out!! What public. Not those who i’ve heard. Only the ones who will make a lot of money out of it probably. We don’t want or need it and its the wrong time to do it.
SNAFU
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Do not forget to read “the scheme is justified if Jersey wants to compete with other financial jurisdictions”. That is the whole point, isn’t it ? What I resent is that all and everyone in Jersey has yet again to bow to the omnipotent finance industry. I am not at all opposed to business and making profits, but not at the expense of others. That we have a blooming finance industry is something to be proud of as such. However, the fact that it has been and is immoral and parasitical in its methods and objectives is NOT.
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Who commissioned the report – what was their brief – when was it commissioned pre or post the credit crunch?
The proposed developers are Irish based, the economy of Ireland is going down the pan faster than that of the UK. I would be amazed if the proposed developers go ahead with this scheme.
This scheme will run and run, put report on the shelf along with the enquiry into Fort Regent, The Town Park and The Casino………….This is Jersey indeed!
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St Helier will end up looking like a mini Dubai – and things have gone very pear shaped in Dubai recently – too much building. Sounds familar?
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clinging to the rock – i work in the finance industry and I really don’t want it – so much so that my first comment was banned lol
There are LOADS of empty office buildings – why do we need new ones? However the finance industry is not immoral or parasitical so I’d like you to take that back as I think you’re thinking of money laundering rather than the actual finance industry.
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Cohen has got to be one of the worst things to ever happen to Jersey. This man passes plans on anything.
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no.5 – “immoral and parasitical in its methods”.
Obviously this depends on the standards that are set, and Jersey has never been and is not now any worse in the way it conducts business that any other finance centre both on and off-shore.
In fact, today, it is much better regulated with a better skilled workforce than many other centres. It has almost identical banking secrecy and anti-money laundering laws as the UK.
There is also a strong case that the ability of off-shore centres to compete in the global economy by providing tax and other efficiencies, actually increases producivity and stimulates the global economy as a whole.
They force on-shore to reduce their tax burden thereby creating a more business friendly environment, as well as creating efficiencies in large corporations allowing them to reinvest on-shore.
Don’t be fooled by Barrack and Brown. They just want it all for themselves. They can’t keep themselves afloat and are just looking to blame others. The fact is they are hypocrites, the US and the UK being ‘tax havens’ themselves in some circumstances.
Hopefully the States move forward with the financial quarter. The industry that has built up here has a lot more to offer the globalised world than lower taxes. Recessions end and Jersey would do well not to have play catch up in the next boom.
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Who’s going to fill the office blocks?
What’s going to stop regular flooding?
Where are all the new workers going to live?
Where was the public consultation?
The whole financial system is unfair hopefully it will change to benefit the less well off and countries with extreme poverty, Jersey’s just an agent at making the poor poorer and rich richer Which (weclome to the jungle) is actaully immoral .
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Forgive me for having very little confidence in Chris Shepley but he was the independant expert brought in to investigate the rushed destruction of Creepy Valley, and he found nothing wrong there despite numerous complaints from local residents.
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p.s. I would put money on Jersey having done a lot more in terms of aid and charity since it started to make money in finance and stopped being a farm with a few tourists.
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I wonder how many people this project is going to kill in the east of the island? If you have a heart attack or stroke and require immediate medical assistance how are the ambulances going to get quickly past the traffic jams which are inevitable during the sinking of the road?
Ministers should be held personally responsible for any deaths due to delays in emergency services.
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Bernard, that’s unless he has a particular irk with the people involved or there’s no benefit to the Finance industry or something else that helps him! Hasn’t taken me long to find that out.
It amazes me that planning of offices is allowed in an area where the view is ruined for any tourists that do come (planning 101 surely!) Never mind that, but realising that land was reclaimed from the sea surely building there or even near to it is complete idiocy in the current climate? More planning 101.
Why don’t the Planning Department just rename themselves ‘Department’?
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Read my lips no finance quarter. We do not need it, we do not want it, and it will be a white elephant when finance goes!
Morally and ethically this decision is bankrupt. Let us all pray the system becomes bankrupt before Jersey gets engulfed in concrete. Anyone who puts finacial gain before environmental issues is advocating ecological disaster. This is going to result in the culling of the human population through diease, lack of food and water, famine, plague and wars. Is this what you really want for the sack of progress?
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why not hey??
we could have a finance quarter, a tourism quarter, retail quarter and then a residential quarter….brilliant…..who needs an environment anyway…it’s overrated!!!!!
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Adrian
Can we please have less of the “we” and “us”
I respect your views but you are being very arrogant to assume I and everybody agree with them.
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if this does go ahead, will it be built by resident labour in the island now?
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