P&R pulls support for funding a new dairy

But States’ Trading Supervisory Board president Peter Ferbrache is calling for deputies to still back the scheme.

STSB submitted its The Future Guernsey Dairy Project policy letter at the start of March, stating that up £25m. was needed to safeguard Guernsey’s diary production. It was proposed that the 70-year-old St Andrew’s facility was either fully refurbished or rebuilt.

But Policy & Resources yesterday submitted a letter of comment, withdrawing its support and calling for the rest of the Assembly to vote against the plans.

In it P&R member Jonathan Le Tocq warned there were tough decisions ahead.

‘It is inevitable that choices will have to be made as to how we fund all the projects we would like to deliver in the future,’ he said.

‘When the committee returns to the Assembly with the detail of the recovery action plans, whether through this committee or its successor, it will necessarily have to test the appetite for managed risk by borrowing what the States of Deliberation can afford to service to invest, revive and thrive.’

He said the committee acknowledge that investment was needed in order to maintain the dairy’s operations and a £1.2m. overdraft facility was agreed in February to cover any short-term capital expenditures, while long-term plans were decided.

Deputy Le Tocq said Guernsey was in a different economic context then and the preferred rebuild option in the policy letter was not fully considered.

He noted that investing in critical national infrastructure would be an important part of Guernsey’s recovery. But the government must look at its capital spending in light on the changes in the economic climate.

‘It is important for the Assembly to understand that the capital fund is over-committed, so any work carried out on this project is doing so against the backdrop of no capital funding being currently ring-fenced or agreed for it,’ Deputy Le Tocq said.

Deputy Ferbrache said all options had been considered and States now needed to back the project.

‘We need to invest properly so that we can maintain a working dairy, long term, and support our dairy farmers so they can continue to manage and protect our countryside,’ he said.