Don’t dwell on architects’ row – St Pier

Education, Sport & Culture has been in hot dispute with the authors of the alternative model over the appointment of one firm of architects to analyse suitable school sites for a two-school model.

ESC member Neil Inder emailed States members, copying in the media, asking the president of Policy & Resources, Gavin St Pier, to confirm the accuracy of his committee’s minutes.

‘Having reviewed [our] minutes [from a meeting on 9 October] it is clear that the advice from States Property Services was to use the same firm to ensure that each site was starting from the same data set and that firm was Design Engine,’ Deputy Inder wrote.

‘Further on in the minutes Deputy [Mark] Dorey concurred with that view.

‘I’m not sure whether Deputy St Pier is on/off the island but I invite two things from him. One to confirm the accuracy of my response to all members and to consider whether those minutes might be released in their entirety to all members,’ he said.

Responding to Deputy Inder’s email, Deputy St Pier, who was present at the meeting in question, said he had ‘no objection to the minutes being released to all States members’.

‘[However] I have no recollection of the meeting having advised that a feasibility study had already been undertaken by [a local firm],’ he said. ‘In my view, with hindsight, this would have been useful as it would have informed the discussion about the role of Design Engine in undertaking further work on the same site.

‘However, my counsel would be that members further trawling over who said what at a meeting three months ago is not at this stage going to usefully inform the debate on the substantive underlying issues at stake between the committee’s proposals and the alternative model.’

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