Lindsay de Sausmarez told the States yesterday that the political oversight group was continuing to work with the GDA following the resignation of chairman Peter Watson last month.
Although its key infrastructure delivery programme was now being revised, Deputy de Saumarez said that she believed there was scope to make progress in some areas.
‘I very much share the GDA’s frustrations,’ she said, ‘but in reviewing the key infrastructure delivery program, the political oversight group became acutely aware of the extent to which the majority of developments are dependent on key strategic decisions, including regarding our harbours and other critical national infrastructure.
‘We’ve just got a very complex situation here, which involves a lot of strategic decisions. And it’s right that those decisions sit with this assembly and not with any sort of other body.’
In response to questions from her former vice-president on Policy & Resources, Deputy Gavin St Pier, Deputy de Sausmarez said that the GDA was now set to discuss a revised plan with the political oversight group over the next few weeks, which would identify opportunities for the GDA to make progress without the need for major strategic decisions from the States.
They would include funding and transfers of land, and would fit in with significant work being undertaken by States committees, including future harbour requirements and bulk cargo activities at St Sampson’s Harbour.
She said she was not willing to identify opportunities at this stage which would ‘set hares running’, but said they included some commercial, public realm and infrastructure works.
A report on the island’s future harbour requirements would be published next year, she added.
P&R considered a paper on future harbour requirements earlier this month, with the input of the GDA and Ports of Guernsey. The next stage is a comprehensive economic and strategic analysis – ‘for many, the missing piece of the jigsaw needed to make the necessary strategic decisions’.
Deputy de Sausmarez maintained that she believed the GDA model would work and that its personnel were the right people to continue to pursue commercial funding agreements for certain projects. She said that constraints on major projects were the main reason why the agency had not been able to reach the stage of financial discussions.
‘The fundamental set of stumbling blocks that we’re up against at the moment is that there aren’t as many projects that we would like that don’t first require a strategic direction from the States, so they can’t get to the delivery point, and therefore they’re not in a position to be having those conversations. But I’ve got every confidence in them being the right people to have those conversations as and when is needed.’
Deputy Neil Inder said that the States would never be prepared to hand over land to the ‘private sector’ but Deputy de Saumarez insisted that was not a barrier at this stage.