Sark's future – a few ideas...

LORD FAULKS has rightly rejected out of hand the calls from 22 prominent Channel Islanders for him to meddle in Sark's internal affairs.

It can't have been a difficult decision for him to make.

Having quietly pushed behind the scenes for years for Sark to introduce democratic reforms, it would be perverse if HMG then tried to undermine the island's elected government. As a constitutional expert that would have been crystal clear to the Justice Minister, as it should have been to everyone.

Undeterred, the 22 say they're not giving up on trying to help Sark. Rather, they're looking forward to taking up Chief Pleas' invitation to visit the island and meet with representatives of its democratically elected government. That's a far more sensible approach, but I can't help feeling their initiative might have been more constructive and better received if that had been their starting point rather than launching an Exocet at Sark through the media.

There is such a thing as rubbing people up the wrong way.

Even now, I can't help worrying that there's a danger that this random collection of the great and the good may be determined to teach the people of Sark and their representatives how to suck eggs. Let's hope not, but the fact that they are also planning to put their ideas for Sark's future to Jersey's Council of Ministers and Guernsey's Policy Council doesn't bode well.

Of course, most of us don't have the luxury of face-to-face talks with Chief Pleas, but hopefully they won't mind if all friends of Sark contribute a few ideas to the debate over the island's future. In doing so, I am acutely aware of the risk of being seen as hypercritical and lecturing the Sarkees on their own affairs. That's certainly not my intention.

My impression of those elected to run Sark is that, far from being a bunch of hayseeds needing guidance, they include a lot of shrewd individuals coping reasonably well in very difficult circumstances indeed.

I think the first thing the people of the other islands should do to help Sark is not to talk it down all the time. Yes, of course it has some very real and intractable problems, but for goodness' sake let's not exaggerate.

It's been pointed out that electricity usage has fallen sharply, which reflects a lower level of economic activity. Well, what the heck did we expect? When four top-end hotels close down in a tiny community like Sark, of course the use of power falls off a cliff.

By contrast, other sections of Sark's accommodation sector seem to be very busy indeed. I enjoyed a couple of two-day breaks in Sark this year, one in a B&B and the other in self-catering, and available beds were really quite difficult to find.

In fact, I get the impression that several people have been investing in extra bed stock to meet the demand for this sort of accommodation.

That makes sense. While any investment in Sark's economy is to be welcomed, their visitor offer over the last few years has been absurdly skewed towards the top-end tourist. That was never going to work.

Yes, there is room for one or two – maybe even three – hotels offering accommodation at £200+ a night. There will always be a demand for such accommodation from discerning, wealthy tourists who love the special feel of Sark. But six top-end hotels in such a small community?

What was worse is that it left a gaping void in the visitor offer between the B&Bs and these luxury boutique hotels. Where are the slightly more basic £90-100 a night hotels likely to appeal to the far larger middle-market? Gone.

Again, I'm risking teaching the Sarkees to suck chicken embryos, but is there any way in which they could work with Herm to offer two-centre holidays? There is a small but significant group of isle-ophiles who love small islands and always choose them for their holidays. However, many may find a full week in one small island a little too much.

By contrast, three or four days each in Herm and Sark could sound like a dream package, particularly with inter-island transfers which didn't involve having to return to Guernsey. It may be too complex to work in practice, but I think it's worth considering.

Likewise, I think there is a significant market of Guernsey and Jersey people who would be strongly attracted by the option of relatively short self-catering breaks in Sark.

With this in mind, perhaps it's time to move away from the assumption that self-catering breaks are measured by the week, with set changeover days. I realise why longer lets are more attractive to landlords, and therefore in the high season they'll probably be all that's available, but I can't help feeling that greater flexibility outside this period could unlock extra demand.

Finally, I have one left-field suggestion. One of the fastest growing sectors of the UK economy is community co-ops.

This is where local residents invest through 'community shares' in the mutual ownership of key facilities such as pubs, village shops or even local football teams.

With a strong community spirit like Sark's, wouldn't this be the ideal way to deliver the investment and the facilities the island needs, while at the same time bonding the resident community even closer together?

I realise there could be resentment if such social enterprises were seen to be competing directly with established businesses, but I still think it's worth considering.

If it's of interest I will happily put Chief Pleas in contact with Co-Operatives UK or the Plunkett Foundation, who could give clearer guidance over how the model works.

But these are only suggestions. I won't be put out if they're rejected out of hand.

And I certainly won't call for a Royal Commission. Nor approach the governments of Jersey or Guernsey.

The Sarkees must decide what's best for Sark. Good luck to them.

• ‘They’ve got a barefaced cheek.’

Read Peter Roffey's original reaction to the 'Sark 22' online at guernseypress.com/news/comment/peter-roffey