Town is on a path of destruction

The new road layout will not prove itself to be good or bad until July or August when the test will really begin. More cruise ships, children out of school for the summer and hopefully some tourists on holiday will prove whether there is sufficient parking and whether or not the new layout causes traffic chaos.

In the meantime, according to one of 'our' deputies, we must wait and see. Environment passed the plan in 11 days, then watched as PSD tried to make the back-of-the-envelope drawings work practically, with large buses finding three-point turns rather difficult and we have the start of yet another mega spend. New ramps for cruising visitors to try to climb, new signs, new plants and planters and now the dredging of the channel to the new 'safe' docking area. Add to the cost of the work to achieve PSD and Environment's 'vision' the loss of business to the Town. The bill is continuing to rise.

Why not just go out of Town such as near Castle Cornet, where there are two or three large slipways which could have been utilised and which would be out of the way of other sea users and Town users, but near enough for shuttle buses to the bus station? Boatworks+ is available and might be willing to stock more souveniers for the cruising public and there's a historic building to explore which would welcome extra footfall.

Environment says they have not had the money or time to make the Salarie car park safer after a cyclist was killed, but they have the money and the will to change the traffic in St Peter Port central. Logic?

According to a St Peter Port North deputy, the Town has been dying for 30 years – the new market, however, is a success story. Successful for whom? There was a time when upkeep of the market was good and people went just to smell the flowers and the fruit. Other smells weren't quite so wonderful but local products were available and people used the markets. Then the States stopped looking after the buildings and the rumours started, stallholders started looking to go elsewhere and over a few years the buildings began to look sadder and sadder and then McAulay and the 'new' market buildings, HMV, Co-op and Sports Direct – not a real market.

Now we are looking around for another area for a new market – what a joke.

We must look for new and different financial streams to alleviate the strain on reliance upon income tax.

I noticed a big private motor vessel near St Peter Port over the weekend. Last year several large motor launches filled up in Guernsey as taking on hundreds of litres of marine diesel or petrol is significantly cheaper here and well worth a detour.

We also have financial arms of banks and financial companies who manage private yachts. Could they recommend a stop in Guernsey for refuelling? They might be given a small commission on sales – Guernsey would win, financial firms would win, the yachts would win and, better yet, no downside.

Open up to the public of this island for ideas of how to raise money and you might be surprised how many people have good ideas among the really dumb ones – after all, the States can't have the monopoly on badly thought out, damaging tactics of raising taxes by punishing the poor and the elderly.

ROSIE HENDERSON,

Ma Carriere,

Le Petit Bouet,

St Peter Port, 1 2AN.