States needs to help capitalise on Leale’s Yard

With the borders essentially closed, residents buying local has become crucial to sustaining many operations this summer.

The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of locally-owned operations, not beholden to the whims or short-termism of national headquarters. Closures on the high street have been witnessed, sometimes collateral damage in pressures elsewhere in a national chain.

Keeping Town vibrant, and managing its transition to modern shopping habits will be one of many factors in a successful recovery. Realistic rents and rates are one factor, flexible planning policy another.

In Guernsey’s second retail centre great untapped opportunity still lies.

Leale’s Yard is a potential early win in the revive and thrive strategy should government help create the right conditions for it to become an attractive proposition.

It has already made some steps towards that – the draft development plan is in place. Planning rules were relaxed in a way that would make it easier for multiple parties to take part in the project.

Government has money thanks to both borrowing and building up the capital reserve to help make the financials work.

It can no longer sit back and wait for something to happen, the benefits of a successful development not only in terms of revitalising the Bridge retail and leisure offering, but for housing, for the construction industry, for the jobs market as a whole, are too good an opportunity to miss.

We know that other major States spending capital projects are not going to be realised quickly, the secondary schools debate, for example, is still trundling through a review process and that is before a new Assembly gets its hands on things.

The runway extension idea seems fanciful at a time when no-one can safely predict what will happen with the travel market.

If the States wants to act swiftly, Leale’s Yard is stacked with potential.