Commons council risks much
AS THE dispute between the clubs and the Vale Commons Council wears on over what is a reasonable annual rent to be able to maintain a golf course on 50% of the area there, it is clear the council is playing a dangerous game. It has no clear title to the land under discussion, has produced no justification for the sums it seeks to raise and has, probably foolishly, declared its intention to introduce paid parking in unspecified areas for unspecified users.
Since the council itself acknowledges that the commons are an amenity of the island, not just the Clos du Valle, its own suitability as the governing or representative body for such a precious resource is clearly open to question.
If it is true that, as locker room wisdom has it, an earlier, less costly settlement with the clubs was arbitrarily torn up by the council, then it is inevitable the dispute will go to mediation.
Should that happen, the council is effectively finished, for ultimate ownership of the commons rests with the States. That is clear from the 1947 Billet d'Etat, in which the States agreed to invest heavily for the benefit of the island in restoring the golf course, which had been largely destroyed by the occupying German forces.
While there has been talk from the council about a municipal course or offering the existing one to other operators, its members have misdirected themselves.
When the States spoke in 1947 about ploughing public funds into the course for the economic benefit of the island as a whole, it used 'municipal' in its strict sense of relating to a city or town or its governing body.
That is one reason why habitants of the Clos du Valle lost the right to play for free and became subject to a charge like golfers from the rest of the island.
While the council might claim to manage the commons, it is clearly subordinate to the States and should be wary of provoking government into demonstrating that fact.
As we said when the row emerged, issuing ultimatums is fine – if they are allowed to stand.
Unless there is a compromise, the council risks losing its legitimacy as commons custodian.
