Education, Sport & Culture president Deputy Paul Montague declined to confirm or deny whether talks had already taken place with any potential private sector partners, but he did confirm that the concept was under consideration, following publication of a review of future options for the leisure centre, which swallows up a £1m. a year direct subsidy and has now been described as outdated in parts.
‘It’s got to be an option going forward, but I think it is also crucial to remember that the centre is such a valuable resource for the island,’ he said.
‘The community doesn’t want to lose it. They don’t want to be priced out of it. It brings value in terms of health and well-being to some of the older members of our community and that’s so valuable. We can’t allow that to be lost in a market place.’
Deputy Montague said he was keen to stress that the report was just the beginning of the consideration of Beau Sejour’s future, not the end of it.
He urged islanders to be patient while his committee worked through the options.
He also accepted that the timing for a need for major capital investment was not ideal at a time of constraints for public finances. He admitted that making the case to spend millions on a leisure centre would not be easy.
‘I don’t know how realistic it is but we have to be open,’ he said. ‘It is important to have these conversations.
‘My committee is not going to be asking the public for a huge amount of cash to build a brand-new version of the 1970s facility. That’s not going to happen.
‘But it is important to get the options out there, so we can look at getting other providers in, and delivering things in a different way.’
Deputy Montague fully accepted that any capital works at Beau Sejour would have to compete for cash against other important infrastructure projects – some of them from his own committee, including a new permanent home for the Sixth Form Centre, but said it was an important issue.
‘Our mandate is Education, Sport & Culture. There is a danger that education becomes the only priority because it is so important, but we are trying to ringfence funds for sport and culture too so they are not neglected. In fact we hope to bring a cultural strategy to the States within the next 10 months.'
The Policy & Resources Committee has given a cautious initial response to the report on the future of the leisure centre. President Lindsay de Sausmarez said the issue required careful consideration.
‘The Policy & Resources Committee has both seen and discussed with interest the report on Beau Sejour. The centre is a very important part of Guernsey and contributes a great deal of social value to the community,’ she said.
‘However, at this stage, it is for the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture to consider in detail and agree a preferred policy. Affordability must of course play a part in any decision.
‘We’re very mindful – as I’m sure are other deputies and members of the public – of previous failures where major capital projects have started and then later proved unaffordable.
‘One of the changes we have made this term is to significantly improve the processes around programme management, because we are determined that that will not happen again. We look forward to having discussions with ESC in due course when they have given further consideration to the future of Beau Sejour.’
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