From Stephen and Pauline Harewood.
HOW sad that the Plémont headland seems lost for ever to entrepreneurs, basically due to our ministers’ reluctance to spend money on conservation and the environment, despite the public’s wishes.

While budget constraints are prudent in the short term, this decision could be very costly for our Island in the long term.

There are two points to consider for those who voted against saving Plémont:
l If funding is a problem, why did some ministers and States Members waste over £10m on a simple currency malfunction when buying the incinerator that an average junior financier would not have allowed?

We are told that mistakes happen; this was a mistake which easily could have bought the Plémont headland, and yet, a mistake which was simply brushed off by our beloved ministers, with no reprisals, which apparently had no impact on our financial situation. So why can’t we afford to buy the Plémont site?

l In the words of Transport Minister Mike Jackson: ‘The incinerator is so huge it can easily accommodate the waste from both a growing Jersey and Guernsey for at least five years.’ So, why did our States Members, in times of restraint, vote for the huge sum of up to £140m, including building and land, when we could easily have bought a plant half the size, with a saving of about £40m, creating an improvement suitable for our coastline and a more manageable plant fitted to suit our needs, with far less environmental impact?

Our ministers obviously prefer to spend millions on a concrete monstrosity, double its required size, instead of investing in our heritage and our
Island’s future. They seem to be accountant-based with linear thinking of simply balancing the books.

However, without visionaries and entrepreneurs, there would be no funds for accountants to manage.

We need visceral, lateral thinkers with courage to represent us in the States, as well as accountants who will see beyond the restraints. We need representatives who will encourage new business and generate income. Forward-thinking people who will fight for the preservation of our Plémont headland and turn it into a nature reserve for puffins and seals with the possibility of a no fishing zone in the waters just below the area.

Our ‘new generation’ of ministers could create a perfect example of flora and fauna with a purpose-built visitor centre.

Besides international acclaim, our special headland could generate an income well over the recommended purchase price while creating a positive aspect to our Island, which we could do with.

The Eden Project in Cornwall has earned the area £120m since its inception, and an eco-reef in Bourne-mouth has generated £26m. Other similar schemes produce massive benefits, particularly in the area of tourism, yet our leaders are so narrow-minded that they will not even consider an investment in our heritage, the future of the Island or the future of our children and grandchildren, all for the sake of 30 houses at an estimated price of £500,000 each, which due to the site costs will not benefit locals.

Does our Island really need extra houses for the super rich? How sad.