Private sector leads the way on investment

It represents a considerable vote of confidence in the island and its future that private developers are prepared to risk their money in the expectation of securing long-term financial rewards.

That is particularly the case for Premier Inn, creating a 100-bed, £30m. hotel on the site in the most challenging conditions for the visitor and travel sectors ever experienced in peacetime.

The benefits go beyond the immediate boost for the construction industry - much though it needs a lift after years of decline.

It stimulates the economy generally, is leading to overdue improvements in the roads serving Admiral Park and, as offices locate, enables other premises to be upgraded or used for new purposes.

More fundamentally, developer interest and input from planners has brought a redundant industrial site back into productive use, although few now remember the old gas site or Fruit Export.

It shows what can be achieved when vision, money and planning come together - and unfortunately highlights the lack of public sector infrastructure investment in recent years.

It is no coincidence that developers Comprop refer to helping the island’s economic recovery in announcing the final phase at Admiral Park.

What used to be the Revive and Thrive programme and now the Government Work Plan are crying out for public investment with strong multiplier effects, those where the economic benefits exceed the initial amount spent.

The States’ track record here, however, is poor and its own inflexibility risks holding back the economic recovery and, by inference, requiring subsequent tax increases to make up revenues.

It needs to adopt a bolder approach to identifying and approving capital projects and streamlining its reliance on a bureaucratic ‘business case’ process.

In short, government needs to learn from the private sector just what it takes to get spades in the ground and tower cranes in the sky.