Post-16 campus given unanimous vote in favour
WORK to create the new post-16 campus at Les Ozouets will begin ‘towards the end of this year’, after permission was granted at an open planning meeting yesterday.
The Development & Planning Authority voted unanimously to approve Education, Sport & Culture’s plans for housing all parts of the Guernsey Institute and the Sixth Form Centre alongside a new sports facility and an expanded Princess Royal Centre for the Performing Arts on the St Peter Port site.
The approved plans include concessions to some of those who made representations regarding traffic and transport issues.
A filter will manage traffic at the junction of Le Friquet and Les Baissieres, rather than a new set of traffic lights, as proposed originally.
In addition, the number of parking spaces will be 346 rather than 386, enabling an increase of cycle spaces from 132 to 200. The space opened up will also facilitate more pedestrianisation.
‘The planning process has been very helpful in letting us look again at the traffic plans we originally submitted for the post-16 campus,’ said director of eduction Nick Hynes.
‘We are now going to look again at what opportunities there might be to improve the infrastructure around the site.
‘With the planning process concluded, we can now move toward starting construction, which we hope will begin with the demolition of the current College of Further Education building – the old St Peter Port School – on Les Ozouets towards the end of this year.’
The finished campus is now scheduled to take in its first students from 2025, after the whole project was earlier delayed by a year from its original completion date of 2024.
ESC president Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen said the committee was ‘delighted’ about the planning decision.
‘As a key element of the overall reorganisation of secondary and post-16 education, the campus brings with it the opportunity to revolutionise education in Guernsey. It will see all post-16 learners progressing together to a single campus, fully equipped with modern, 21st century facilities, to pursue their chosen professional, technical, vocational, A-level or International Baccalaureate qualifications,’ she said.
While planning permission has been awaited, work has been progressing on decanting current students from Les Ozouets.
Work has begun at the Coutanchez and Delancey to accommodate them.
Arrangements have also been made for teams such as the Music Service, Youth Commission, Share (Sexual Health And Relationship Education) and others to be relocated to different education sites.
ESC has said the Princess Royal Centre for the Performing Arts will remain open and in use by performing arts students and the public throughout the construction of the new facilities.
