Days of leisure over for 'poisoned chalice' minister

WHEN he took on the Environment Department, Peter Sirett thought it would be a poisoned chalice. And who could blame him?

A mandate that covers traffic and planning among other things is never going to lead to an easy ride - two very visible issues on which everyone has an opinion.

But the department scored an early victory with the successful decision to overturn its predecessor's stance and make the roads around St Sampson's High and Le Murier schools one-way.

And come April, the long-awaited new planning law will be in operation and some of those pressing issues raised by the Shepley report should be addressed.

That is not to say everything is rosy. Staff recruitment is still an issue and there is the thorny problem of replacing a bus fleet which has vehicles that are no longer manufactured and a transport strategy that is two years short of funds because paid parking has not been introduced.

We will know more about that in January, but there are signs the department could come up with a different scheme not based on an hourly rate.

Deputy Sirett, a former Culture and Leisure minister, said it had been an interesting seven months.

'Previously, I'd been involved in a department where we're providing something people want. Here it's a different situation. We're heavily involved in what's essentially a judicial process. The way we approach the job has been very different - that's been a real education and it's taken a couple of months to get up to speed on how to do things,' he said.

The department has a varied mandate with less controversial aspects such as the Keep Guernsey Green awards, but the focus will remain on planning and traffic for many.

'It's a big job. Initially I saw it as a poisoned chalice, but now I see it more as a challenge. I enjoy that challenge. It's the opportunity to make your mark and, in general, help people in hard-pressed situations and try to do a job to the best of your ability.'

He acknowledged that there were recruitment problems in planning, but stressed that it was a job that could not be done in a less resource-hungry way because of the process.

'We are continually trying to get more staff on board. There's apparently a shortage of trained planning officials in the UK. It's sad to say when we find someone with an interest in the job, finding accommodation and the expense of living in Guernsey puts them off.'

It does not get as far as the housing licence stage, he added.

The independent Shepley report made a string of recommendations last States term for improving planning. Many of them are already being implemented.

Deputy Sirett said there was a lot of good in Shepley.

'I believe we can improve the process.'

Much of this will come in April when the new planning law is introduced.

With fees for things such as planning and building control applications coming in slowly after that, service level agreements will be put in place so the public gets what it wants.

Behind it all is IT.

The system is being updated and tailored for Guernsey's needs. Eventually people will be able to track the progress of their applications online, meaning less staff time will be spent dealing with such queries.

Registers of planning applications and listed buildings should also be made available online and from a computer terminal at Frossard House.

Shepley was a Policy Council report and it is being progressed through the Strategic Land Planning Group, but the department's latest budget makes allowances for the resources needed for some of the improvements.

Just do not hold your breath for open planning meetings - the board needs to find out more about how this operates in other jurisdictions.

A separate States planning department is another issue yet to be addressed.

Deputy Sirett is convinced the amount of time taken to process applications is coming down.

And it seems that relations with the Commerce and Employment Department, which appeared to reach an all-time low over land for industry last term, are on the mend.

It was one of two issues identified as a prime focus for the new board, the other being traffic arrangements at the new schools.

'Over the "Fred in the Shed" scenario, where there was great concern people were being forced out with nowhere to go, we sat down with Commerce and Employment and worked with them,' said Deputy Sirett.

'They are happy with proposals we're currently working on that will be seeing the light of day very shortly.'

We will find out more early next year.