Jobs will go unless States back construction industry
Thursday 24th November 2011, 2:57PM GMT.
Council chairman Martin Holmes
MORE redundancies are likely if the States does not act quickly and decisively in support of the construction industry, the new Council of Ministers is warned today.
The Jersey Construction Council, which represents building firms, said that major developments needed to be fast-tracked through the planning process to help kick-start the economy.
It insisted that privately-funded projects worth £250 million could start immediately if they got the go ahead from planners.
Those schemes would include the proposed £150 million J1 development between Broad Street and Commercial Street, which includes offices shops and restaurants.
Council chairman Martin Holmes said that he had not seen the industry so flat since he came to Jersey 11 years ago.
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Will the redundancies be for Jersey residents or just for imported workers?
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This where government can put a positive spin on the economy without costing £ millions. So what are we waiting for.
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I have now gone through a 13 year battle with the planners in respect of the demolished site at the corner of Hilgrove Street and Halkett Street. Building would be ready to start tomorrow except for more hoops to go through by the Heritage Department and the Historic Environment team of the Planning Department. What is historic about these two derelict and worn out properties that have no historic value whatsoever? I am prepared to construct a proper shop property,in keeping with the rest of thelocal archtecture,despite the retail downturn,such is my faith in Jersey.But I am constrained from doing so becasue fo these anoraks that think Lily Langtry is about to re-visit us. So much for helping keep Jersey’s economy alive!
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John, You must realize the jobs market is tight, especially for well paid jobs in planning. Having created a market for themselves there is a whole cottage industry in ‘planning’. I agree with you. I am all for buildings that are proportionate to their surroundings, but you cannot keep the whole world in aspic.
Our minister for planning need to draw a balance between aesthetics and the economy. Far more important that we have a comfortable and carbon efficient built environment, than fancy niff naff.
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Well so what..? Mr Holmes 11 years ago we had a different situation..the world was different and has now changed so those who had the good days can fold their tents and go…and if it picks up we’ll re hire…the world does NOT revolve around your men,you cant expect boom conditions and continuing building ad infinitum especially in the biggest turn down for donkey’s…adios ..boat in the morning.
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Zoro you clearly dont’ understand the building industry. Many Le Brocqs, Renoufs, Le Maistre, Le Cornu families are subcontractors relying on building here.
Zoro, it is you who the island doesn’t need, boat in the mornign to you instead. The building industry is critical to Jersey and as fundamental as the Finance industry.
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seeing , mr holmes with his camerons hat on. i can answer islanders question(1).
the place where i work has in the past carried out work for camerons on several occasions over the years. we are some localy born and all fully time served residents .
the work from camerons that i have been involved in , has fed my family , paid my states rent , and paid my taxes .
i live in hope of arriving for work at anyones site, to pay for the above mentioned.
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There has been more than enough building during the ‘boom’ years thank you.
Is there going to be mortgages for ‘first time buyers’? or more handouts from tax payers
Many of the workers are not local and can return home, problem solved.
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Obviously if you are not Dandara, your application goes back to the bottom of the pile.
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As they will in Fulfilment….why build houses that no one can afford!?
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Err, yes, this pressure group for the development industry would say that, wouldn’t it?
I like the emotive use of the word “warned”. Who are these people to warn anyone? They should be “warned” not to cover the island with eyesores and they should also be “warned” to employ local persons and not to pay cah in hand to the five minute off the boat brigade. I am sure that Mr Holmes has done very well out of his 11 years here; perhaps he should look at developing sites elsewhere now. It won’t be missed here, that is for sure!
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3; The old shops in Hilgrove Street (1860 or thereabouts) fit in very well with the market and the Prince of Wales pub. They look shabby, but only because someone has apparently taken a decision to leave them derelict and to paint them in a very unattractive grey paint. Only a few years ago, they were blue with gold pinstriping and they were very attractive indeed.
It is interesting to note that a Royal Court hearing in 2004 upheld the planning decision that the shops be retained. The following year, the Court of Appeal upheld that order. An historic builidng architect supported the decision, together with a commissioned report from another team of experts. So, is the historic building department, the planning committee, the Royal Court, the Court of Appeal and everyone else all wrong and the developer is right? I think not.
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So, according to Mr. Holmes, who came here 11 years ago, we have to accept that Jersey needs to be concreted over in order to save the jobs of the hordes of foreign workers who now dominate his “local” construction industry. I suppose that, in some ways, it is a blessing in disguise; if it really were “local” people making up the majority of the construction workforce, perhaps we would be obliged to keep building in order to save their jobs. As it happens, most construction workers are imported foreign labour; therefore, if there isn’t enough work for them they may go back home…
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I see an opportunity here, if we can have £250 million of construction works carried out using private funding then yes lets get it implemented but… using local workers and only when there are no locals left unemployed are outsiders let in on temporary work permits.
John Manley – I do sympathise, it’s insane but have you tried changing your name to Dan Dara, just a thought.
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Before any more ‘development’ is undertaken we need the following information from our beloved leaders:
1. Census – what IS the population.
2. How many apartments and flats are EMPTY and unsold.
3. How many offices and retail units are EMPTY.
We appear to be building for the sake of the industry and not to demand. This allows external investors to then buy them as an investement and not to live in (Castle Quay as an example) this then artificially inflates the property market and then the spiral continues. The housing market is stagnant at the moment – 13 pages of properties in the JEP!
Additionally all big contracts appear to go to the non island firms (Dandara mainly) who do not employ locals.. therefore profit is not kept in the economy, wages are not kept in the economy and materials are sourced off island – the long term welfare of the local building industry and associated trades is compromised.
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Agreed,I would love to know how many of the properties built in the last 5 years were bought by outside investors.There must be a way of finding out, is there?
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Agree, where is the Census data. Or is it such a horror that the old CoM just sat on it?
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Spot on com-mentator. I was speaking to a friend in the building industry who informed me his millionaire mate had recently bought 10 apartments as an investment.
This is not what we should be building for in such a finite landscape.
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#9 ‘I like the emotive use of the word “warned”. Who are these people to warn anyone? They should be “warned” not to cover the island with eyesores and they should also be “warned” to employ local persons and not to pay cah in hand to the five minute off the boat brigade’
Hear, hear, Jo.
It’s a case of “My wealth will suffer if you lot don’t take heed and come round to my way of thinking”.
Happens a lot in Jersey.
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The headline was ‘Jobs will go unless States back construction industry’. Shouldn’t it have been – ‘Self-interested builders emotionally blackmail States in order to line their own pockets’
Maybe I’m just old and cynical.
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Agreed no 13 what’s the point of building more shops, offices and flats when we already have so many unoccupied?
It’s just a Ponzi scheme. What will the people who build the J1 development do when it is complete? Build another one?
Times have changed and the construction industry should adapt.
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Dave, the J1 development is a product of the free market. If they get is wrong, they will loses their shirt. That is not a matter that either Planning or the construction industry should concern themselves about.
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It does not work like that in the Jersey ‘free’ market.
Dandara built the houses at Goose Green but they proved a little hard to sell.
So up steps Housing and buys almost half of them.
Sorted!
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If left to the free market, Jersey would be covered in office and apartment blocks (well more covered than it is now).
It is certainly a matter for planning to ensure that the Island is not over-developed.
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Yet again developers squeezing planning and playing the game with the old mass redundancy story! I fully sympathize with people being laid off at this time of year as I myself had this happen to me only a week ago. I am afraid this appears to be mainly big companies trying to milk every bit of money out of one of the last affluent places left in Europe. Go to many sites and you will find a huge proportion of eastern migrant workers who have come here to( let’s face it) make large amounts of money to establish a good life back in their native country. Migrant workers are just that, they were chasing the buck in Germany, France etc before finding Jersey to be the latest money maker. I am under no illusion that people who have made their full time home in Jersey are under threat but I would wager that the majority are migrants who will head to the next best economy to make their fortune. Building yet more homes that cannot be bought by actual owner occupiers but tax avoiding companies from all over the world is not the answer. Think outside of the box Jersey as you have only two major industries left, finance and construction, construction has reached it’s saturation point and they need to face reality.
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I saw a chap working on a site as a stonemason’s labourer. I am presently acquiring those skills myself so I stopped to say hello and to ask him why he was grinding off granite with an angle grinder!
At first, I thought that his blank look might have arisen from his having been exposed to too much granite dust. I then realised that he spoke not one word of English. He didn’t even seem very bothered, which you think he would be, given that he was living and working in our island. I wonder when he arrived here and, perhaps more importantly, how he managed to secure a fairly unskilled job in this time of local unemployment?
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cool
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Good. Bye bye then. Close the door.
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The J E P should have invoiced Mr Holmes for advertising Cameron`s.
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Com-Mentator; what an excellent, succinctly written comment which totally sums up my feelings and thoughts on the subject. Counldn’t have put it better myself.
Will anyone actually answer the questions though?
1. Census – what IS the population (taking an inordinate amount of time to release the figure, perhaps too horrified at the result)
2. How many apartments and flats are EMPTY and unsold.
3. How many offices and retail units are EMPTY.
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Com-Mentator and Woody: The building on the island is not just apartments, in fact apartments is hardly 5% of actual construction. The majority involves States projects, improving roads, marine areas, and refurbishments of old buildings that need to be fixed due to asbestos etc.
In fact actual green sites makes up less the 2% of building, and is expected to be below 1% over the next 24 months.
Facts please, don’t make things up.
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Woody my estimate is 120k.
Why is the government getting involved in market forces. The market is constricting let it find its natural level.
Anyway what with the likelihood of an EU and US collapse all these flats won’t be able to be given away and it will be just like in Eire loads of empty property rotting away with no takers.
My advice is cash in now and emmigrate before the bubble bursts. Other places are beginning to look more enticing.
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Wise man say; man who build too many houses like tree with many apples; fruit fall to ground and rot and houses fall in cloud of dust; wise man also say; he who refuse to pay local workman say prayer to cuckoo in nest and will never see profit.
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