Fort Richmond questions asked to ‘scratch beneath the surface’

The Allez family has finally won their years-long battle to secure clear title of their home, Maison de la Guerre, but only after racking up huge legal bills and suffering years of worry over threats to kick them out of the former German bunker.

The 2019 sale of the fort, at a knockdown price of £1m., was based on 1922 boundary lines which States officials had accepted for years needed to be redrawn after agreeing that the rightful boundary gave the family full ownership of the bunker.

The Allez family has dismissed claims made recently by the Policy & Resources Committee that the States went ahead with the sale only after receiving ‘formal assurances’ that neighbouring landowners were happy to deal with any boundary disputes between themselves once the fort was sold.

Deputy Andrew Taylor wants P&R members to demand more information from States officials about the sale of the fort, and yesterday submitted formal written questions to force the issue.

‘It is clear from the response to my last question that P&R members do not consider this issue to have been of any significance, so perhaps they didn’t ask many questions when the information was originally put to them,’ said Deputy Taylor.

‘While I am in full agreement that a trusting relationship between politicians and officials is necessary, when such a glaring difference of position arises, it is entirely appropriate to stop and scratch slightly beneath the surface. That doesn’t appear to have happened in this case.’

In July, P&R claimed that ‘the States considered, on the basis of formal assurances, that the adjoining landowners would be willing and capable of agreeing any boundary exchanges to suit their specific requirements following completion of the sale’.

Despite the claim of ‘formal assurances’, the Guernsey Press understands that P&R may not in fact be in possession of any documents indicating that the Allez family was happy for the sale of the fort using the 1922 boundary.

Deputy Taylor has challenged P&R to prove its claim about receiving ‘formal assurances’ before the sale of the fort for £1m. in August 2019, four years after it was put on the market for £2m.

‘The Allez family have publicly stated that no assurance was given by them,’ he said.

‘Although I have relayed that message to P&R, it is difficult to provide any further proof as to the non-existence of a document.

‘It is, therefore, entirely upon the committee to substantiate its claim.’

Deputy Taylor’s questions ask P&R to publish the date on which the States received the formal assurances from the Allez

family, whether the committee has seen the formal assurances and, if not, whether it has requested sight of them. P&R must reply by the end of the first week in October.