Rob Batiste’s heartfelt ‘cri de coeur’, almost an SOS (5 August), was a brilliantly-detailed account of our troubled northern parishes, and the distress caused by proposed plans. The parishioners have a great ‘ally’ in Mr Batiste, both as a journalist and local historian dedicated to Guernsey. The frustration, anguish and anger in his report were tangible.
Will it ever register with 'the powers that be' that islanders don’t want their hard-earned taxes to go to multinational companies in the UK for planning, consultations, et al when we are strapped for cash for our hospital, education, etc? These UK firms must take us for a ‘right bunch of idiots’ who can’t think for themselves. How much? We should be told.
The tragedy, of course, is that we do have the brain power on-island. The little grey cells proliferate in abundance, with the added advantage of our clever islanders knowing the problems first-hand, of local terrains, environs, historical contexts and, most importantly, knowing how their fellow islanders want to be privy to discussions as to what might befall their precious homes and parishes, before it’s a ‘fait accompli’, not after it’s dumped on them when it’s too late for any input.
Why offload our business to the UK anyway? Someone to blame if problems arise?
Secrecy? Aren’t we all on the same side? It breeds a ‘cagey’ them-and-us atmosphere. But then power doesn’t always denote integrity or ability.
The States of Guernsey is well represented with ‘greens and environmentalists’, good for them. But they can’t have it both ways with, on the one hand, exhorting northern parishes to revert to a ‘retro rendezvous’, with the 1950’s walk, bike, bus, while simultaneously expecting them to suffer an egregious building/traffic plan, threatening to ‘swamp’ them.
Promoting the destruction and vandalism of lovely Guernsey houses and cottages (compulsory purchases) and demolishing pretty lanes and byways (the very warp and weft of the fabric and DNA of Guernsey), swept aside as of no consequence to accommodate traffic for the ‘incomers’. Because as Horace Camp observed in his column (again) the ‘new order’ will service the huge new housing estates, unaffordable for our youngsters, but heavily subscribed to by generous States of Guernsey help for ‘incomers’, not deemed applicable to local home-seekers who can only stand and watch as what should have been their heritage, a local home, passes them by. It’s a disgrace.
When the supposed ‘saviours of our economy’ get fed up of the vagaries of island life (it doesn’t suit everyone) and, after a couple of years, sell up, pocketing the accrued profits, to return to their UK homes (rented out for the duration) they’ll be ‘quids in’ at our kids’ expense. Complacent politicians will say ‘steps have been taken to prevent excessive profiteering’, but that doesn’t help our youngsters.
Will States of Guernsey still think it’s worth it? We won’t. We will never forgive them for their cruel, biased and dismissive treatment of local youngsters. Deputies are said to be the ‘peoples representatives’ in government, but not for Guernsey people obviously.
If a picture paints a thousand words, our beloved Sarnia Cherie and we islanders would choose Edvard Munch’s The Scream!
Jill Martel
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