Plans for the seafront should be an election issue

The Chamber wants the implementation of a unified plan, no piecemeal evolving development for them. I have to ask what plan the Chamber has in mind? Could it be the Town Centre Partnership 'Vision' as previously set out in the 'Vision' booklet published by the partnership – that 'partnership' is incidentally, a non-elected body representing their own commercial interests. This partnership has no formal standing and is not part, as far as I am aware, of any local government body. This 'vision' envisages reduced single lane seafront traffic and the pedestrianisation of large areas of the front, with the piers up for private/public initiative projects. It infers that the piers will no longer be used for free public parking. The plans also include the North Beach and Salerie Corner piers which were paid for by yours truly, the people of Guernsey.

The vision apparently is to merge the Harbours plan with the Seafront plan.

It would seem that Harbours do have a far-reaching plan, as during the open planning meeting for the permanent appropriation by Harbours of the 460-odd car parking places on the North Beach – and at which I was the sole public objector – the States planners made verbal reference to it. As far as I know nothing has ever been published for public scrutiny.

So we have the Chamber wishing to get cracking and for someone, presumably Joe Public, to pour money into 'the plan', which will ultimately be for the benefit of specific commercial entities and their stakeholders.

Last year, our town was disrupted by an ill-conceived 'traffic calming' and crossing-safety project – the people told the government to back off and reinstate the old layout and from that some of the changes were put to rights. From that debacle the chief minister's seafront working party was born. They have already said quite categorically they won't tell us what they are going to do until the election is safely behind them. After the election we may see what is really going on. It reminds me of Blackadder and Baldrick's cunning little plan.

The tender docking reshuffle for the cruise liner passengers, the re-organisation of the bus terminus, the Town Church crossing and other smaller additions and subtractions cost the taxpayer £750,000 (approximately). It also almost brought the town to a standstill and damaged retailers. The States backed off, aware that an election was looming. What damage can they do with the safety of a four-year term stretching out in front?

My fear is that with the commercial exploitation of the seafront and whatever grand plan the Harbours have, is that these amenities will become less and less meaningful to the ordinary everyday working Guernsey person and become gradually the preserve of the affluent. Already most people and trades avoid Town like the plague on cruise liner days, but now with visions of a Mediterranean-style alfresco boulevard stretching from one end of Town to another and with reduced meaningful parking, Town will become a huge irrelevance to the general Guernsey population.

Commercial exploitation of the seafront, when coupled with the new land-use strategy, which has the undeniably effect of concentrating the working population into the so-called 'main centres' of St Port and St Sampson's, has the effect of segregation by concentrating the less well off, average-income working islanders to the north of the island. This will leave our green and pleasant lands to the south of the island to the better off and the wealthy who will have little or no housing developments. We are in grave danger of seeing the already quite apparent social divide in the island becoming, quite literally, a geographic division whereby, as a result of the law of unintended consequences, a line could to be drawn on the map of Guernsey from a boutique boulevard seafront southwards – the preserve of the island's elite – and north of the seafront, the townships of the workers.

I think the seafront should become a legitimate election issue, not one to be kicked down the road till after the election. As I have tried to illustrate, what happens to the seafront has ramifications on several different levels and the people of Guernsey should have the opportunity to understand the plans and proposals that undoubtedly are being worked on, not only the States, but other influential bodies such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Centre Partnership. My challenge to the chief minister, Harbours and the other bodies of influence is to publish in the Press your proposals for the seafront –even if only in broad terms – and lay them before the electorate so that voters can clearly support those candidates in favour of these ideas or clearly reject your visions in favour of a St Peter Port that is a town for all islanders.

MICHAEL HENDERSON,

Ma Carriere,

Le Bouet,

St Peter Port,

GY1 2AN.