Views on memorial plans are 'outlandish, shocking'

1. '...involve financing, final planning and a public/private partnership.'

The garden alone will not generate any income – so is it planned to slip in an underground car park once again at a later date? Public land being used with private individuals reaping the profits? Plans to be amended later on? Work stopping leaving the gardens destroyed and an eyesore until the new plans are approved?

2. '...there is no intention to take away any trees and plants.'

Of course there is. It's obvious from the plans. The plant-life will be decimated.

3. '...the whole area is a mess.'

Has Mr Honeybill visited the area in the past few years? It looks pretty smart to the many persons who visit daily and enjoy the peace, tranquility and beauty of the spot – in fact, with the richness and green of the plants it looks lovely.

4. '...to allow the annual celebrations to be enjoyed by people who prefer to stand on a level surface.'

Celebrations?

Or annual Remembrance Service? The memorial has been there almost 90 years and has served very well up to now with people standing on the slopes and the level surfaces around the memorial with no dancing or celebrating going on. Shocking comment, Mr Honeybill, absolutely shocking.

5. '...the predominance of motor-bikes and scooters is an eyesore.'

So Mr Honeybill wants them out because he does not like the look of them? Another shocking statement. And his plans for an underground car park with ventilation ducts, entrance, and toilets will look any better?

6. '...a large public area and toilets is desperately needed in our Town.'

Why? To match the large, often unused public area of Market Square? Toilets are five minutes walk away at the top of St Julian's Avenue... but they are usually kept closed.

Other public toilets are at the bus terminus, North Beach, Crown Pier etc.

There are no toilets mentioned in the plans, so the intention is clearly there to amend them – what else will be included? An underground car park?

Now these are the comments of Jack Honeybill, the 'Executive Officer' – but are they really the opinions of all the Town Centre Partnership? Or just the opinion of an ex-banker interested in furthering certain big business interests? We respectfully ask the other trustees of the TCP to come out and declare their views – and their interests in this project, financial or otherwise.

Public opinion is overwhelmingly against these proposals – the online petition has received well over 1,100 signatures, the Facebook group over 1,300 members, so it is quite irrelevant what the Town Centre Partnership, a totally unelected body, says. Proof of public opinion can be seen by reading the comments on the online petition at https://www.change.org/p/s-save-the-sunken-gardens-in-st-peter-port-guernsey

Once again, one has to raise the issue of what the real motives of this mysterious St Paul's Regeneration Committee are. And who exactly they are? And what legal status, if any, does it have?

What is their relationship with the Monument Gardens Committee who proposed a similar set of proposals but with a privately operated, money generating underground car-park. Are they not the same people?

Why can we not be given full details and why is there no transparency in any of this? Why does Education, Sport & Culture waste any time on these private, money-making schemes of a few?

ALVIN J. FURRER,

4, El Tawfiq Street,

Cairo, Egypt.

Editor's footnote: David Cherry, chairman of the Town Centre Partnership, responds: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your reader's letter regarding the Sunken Gardens.

The Town Centre Partnership (TCP) is a registered charity and as such is apolitical by nature and makeup.

We feel that it is inappropriate for us to comment on political or contentious issues but with the best intentions in the world sometimes initiatives or projects spill over into these areas. It's inevitable I am afraid when living on a small island.

I can confirm that the TCP has no interests in the Sunken Gardens project financial or otherwise and do not support the very latest plans.

The TCP raises circa £100,000 per annum to enhance our major town and with the exception of a very modest salary of around £12,000 paid to our extremely hard working chief executive, every penny goes into St Peter Port.

I have a fantastic dedicated team who work tirelessly and I am really proud of what we have achieved over the last 10 years.