Conseillers voted 13 to three, with two absentees, to take on the loan facility in order to progress with the compulsory purchase of Sark Electricity Ltd.
A spokesman for the island’s Policy & Finance Committee said the loan represented the most affordable, reliable and practicable mechanism available to complete the acquisition and to ensure the immediate safety of Sark’s electricity grid.
‘It provides certainty at a critical stage in the compulsory purchase process, allowing the island to move beyond long‑running uncertainty and towards a system that is safe, reliable and fit to meet the current and future needs of residents and businesses,’ he said.
‘Once the acquisition and essential remedial works are completed, Sark will be in a far stronger position to plan for future investment, refinancing and longer‑term modernisation of the network.’
During the extraordinary meeting, which lasted a little over an hour, Chief Pleas also approved the establishment of a new company to hold and operate the electricity assets following acquisition and approved the appointment of James Lancaster, formerly managing director of Alderney Electricity, as its interim managing director.
One of the three conseillers who voted against taking the loan, Frank Makepeace, said he had been disappointed with the level of scrutiny such an important decision had faced
‘It was a shame there weren’t more searching questions asked,’ he said. ‘Conseillers need to be challenging and debate more on behalf of residents.’
SEL has opposed the option of compulsory purchase since laws enabling the process were passed in 2021.
The company and Chief Pleas are known to widely differ in their valuations of the company and infrastructure, with SELs owner stating Alan Witney-Price stating it is worth £2.4m. and Chief Pleas less than £500,000.
The value for compulsory purchase is due to be decided by an independent valuer once terms have been agreed by the Seneschal’s Court, in a hearing due to take place this month.
Conseiller Makepeace said the threat of litigation once this value has been established was one of the reasons he voted against the loan.
‘If the owner considers that this figure does not reflect the true value of the business as a going concern, and there is clear evidence of a very substantial gap between the two positions, then we must expect challenge,’ he said during the debate.
‘Any such challenge will not be cost-free. It will expose this island to uncertainty, delay, and potentially significant additional liability.’
You need to be logged in to comment.