Prince’s Foundation to produce vision for the future of Sark

It was invited to the island by a company of which Seigneur Christopher Beaumont is a director.

Four representatives of the Foundation will be in Sark later this month to talk to people, listen to their views and assess the feasibility of producing a long-term plan for the island’s future.

‘We hope they will produce a vision for the future to crystallise what’s great about Sark and give us options for how we take that vision forward for the next 50 years,’ said Mr Beaumont.

The visit is being funded by Sark Property Company.

Mr Beaumont said he had been in touch with the Foundation for about two years in an effort to get it interested, leading to an initial visit at the end of 2021.

The island has been presented to the Foundation as a community that needs assistance in planning its future, he said.

‘Getting the Prince’s Foundation on board has taken a long time. But their founder has a keen interest in the Bailiwick. We are, after all, part of the Crown Dependencies.

‘Their founder is my landlord, essentially.’

The Foundation will host a public event in Sark on the evening of Monday 24 April.

It will also be involved in smaller, focused workshops on topics such as Sark’s heritage, social services, land ownership and infrastructure.

There will also be an open drop-in session for anyone to go along and share their views.

Mr Beaumont said the last time a similar exercise was conducted was at the end of the 1960s, but Chief Pleas decided not to adopt many of the recommendations from that exercise.

‘The community really should be the final arbiter. Chief Pleas serves the community, they don’t dictate to the community,’ said Mr Beaumont.

He expected that this month’s visit would be the first of at least three by the team behind the project.

The Prince’s Foundation was established by King Charles to support people to create communities.

Among its previous projects is Poundbury in Dorset.