IT’S difficult not to feel depressed about the St Helier Waterfront project.

It’s almost inevitable that it will end up as a waste of a fantastic opportunity because of a lack of strong leadership driving it forward, the absence of any vision, the squabbling over silly details, and the antagonism from critics who push their views without the benefit of any research or even thinking about it too much. It’s a bit like Jersey really.

The Waterfront is seldom out of the media spotlight for very long, but the latest fuss is not about the lack of progress being made with this long-awaited project. It’s about wanting to stop it in its tracks.

Those of our competitors who don’t have the huge opportunity that the Waterfront represents must be laughing their socks off. Here we are, stuck with a building site and the possibility of turning it into something to help secure the Island’s economic future and we want to put it off.
They say that the Jersey Way is different, but this is potty.

The argument for delaying the project is, of course, the recession. These advocates of delay point to the pretty obvious situation of a less than buoyant demand for new offices and other accommodation.

No doubt these people, some of whom claim to be experts, have stopped all of their own personal and business spending until the recession is over, so it’s no wonder it’s worse than it needs to be.

But what these experts don’t seem to realise is that the developments being planned on the Waterfront now will not be ready tomorrow, the next day or even the next year.

I know that the way these critics apparently operate will probably help to prolong the agony, but most commentators are expecting the economy to pick up in a matter of months. It certainly won’t last more than a year or so, which is precisely when parts of the development will be coming on stream (if we’re lucky).

So they are right in some respects – development on the Waterfront is a matter of timing, but the timing now could be perfect. In any case, it’s the developer’s call; it’s their money.
Another good argument for pushing ahead is the obvious availability of cheap labour and lower prices during a recession.

The Waterfront may not meet the criteria of being timely, targeted and temporary, so it couldn’t be part of the current economic stimulus package.

But it will undoubtedly provide a long term stimulus for the economy, so some States investment in it at this time, would not only generate confidence now but help to reap long term benefits.

But apart from the fact that everyone is thoroughly sick and tired of the procrastination, there’s an event more important reason for not delaying the Waterfront plans.

The St Helier Waterfront is much more than just a collection of buildings to be bought and sold and filled with tenants. It’s a symbol of how Jersey sees the future.

At the moment that future looks uncertain rather than confident. Instead of seeing the Waterfront as an exciting opportunity to show the world how Jersey looks forward to the future, we worry about whether there are going to be enough tenants.

Then the arguments about design and lay-out will rumble on until well after the whole project is complete, so this will further dampen any enthusiasm people might have for the project. I for one have had to accept that it’s not going to be what I would like to see, but I am still hopeful that the result will be reasonably attractive.

Whatever it looks like, it will provide the Island with what it needs most – and that’s space. It’s space that can be used for living, working and playing in a genuinely mixed development and not just a few offices with flats tacked on.  Most importantly it’s space that can be used by the Island’s biggest industry as well as any emerging industries, to help position themselves for the future.

Coincidentally I’ve just returned from Belfast, where I was given an update on their Titanic Quarter development, one of the biggest and most exciting waterfront projects in Europe. Perhaps surprisingly, even in these dire economic times, I could find nothing but confidence and enthusiasm for the massive scheme which is largely on track. Companies and government bodies appear to be queuing up to start cutting-edge high tech and financial services operations on the site.

There are research organisations already developing innovative products and services nearby and giant US banks are successfully using the world-class telecommunications infrastructure provided to process business from all over Europe.

There’s obviously a difference in scale, and perhaps Jersey can never aspire to being at the leading edge of developments in any industry, not even financial services. However, in this knowledge economy we should at least try and the Waterfront should provides us with the facilities to do that.

There are also obvious differences in the location of the Belfast and Jersey developments. One is on a disused shipbuilding area and the other is a reclamation site, so the Jersey development has many more planning difficulties.

But these shouldn’t be insurmountable and they definitely should not be used as an excuse for long delays.

There are several important similarities between the Belfast and Jersey developments, however. The main developer is the same, Harcourt, and the architect who designed the Titanic Quarter is the same one who designed the much- criticised three towers project for St Helier.

Personally, I still think that what the architect proposed was better than the current plans, but I won’t try to use that as an excuse for any further delay.

Peter Body is editor of Business Brief magazine