“Cinderella” Colomberie ‘could be like Brighton Lanes’

Monday 12 November 2018

Colomberie could resemble the famous Brighton Lanes with “quirky shops run by local people”, if St. Helier’s Constable gets his way.

The Lanes are a collection of narrow alleyways, which historically formed part of the fishing town of Brighthelmstone and are now known for their colourful shops.

Constable Simon Crowcroft made the comment about Colomberie, which he described as a “Cinderella district” before a panel of politicians tasked with reviewing the government’s retail policy.

He told the panel, which was chaired by Deputy Kirsten Morel, that there were several ways to improve the look of the area and its attractiveness to shoppers, but that some of his proposals had previously hit a roadblock with the Minister for Infrastructure. He did not specify whether this was the incumbent, Deputy Kevin Lewis, or the former, Deputy Eddie Noel.

Pictured: Constable Crowcroft said that Colomberie had the potential to become an area similar to Brighton Lanes.

His ideas included moving “physical blocks” getting in the way of shoppers accessing the area, such as bicycle racks. Constable Crowcroft said that he didn’t have the authority to move them, and that the Minister had refused to do so when asked.

He added that there is “an awful lot of traffic” in the area. “You have to reduce traffic for people to enjoy the area, but it is still a main traffic thoroughfare.”

He also explained that he currently had no budget to regenerate the area, which he said had the potential “to be like Brighton Lanes with quirky shops run by local people.”

Town Centre Manager Daphne East, who was also called before the Retail Policy Review Panel, explained that there are already a number of well-used independent stores in Colomberie, which proved islanders’ appreciation of independent stores, “and not just UK chains.”

Pictured: Could Colomberie already be on its way towards a Brighton-style revamp?

Nonetheless, she observed that the West end of town was “struggling” to get the same level of footfall as other parts of the centre. 

Constable Crowcroft described St. Helier as “extremely resilient and doing very well compared to other towns in the UK.”

He explained that the private sector is still investing in town and that the turnover of empty shops was “healthy.”

However, the Constable added that he was fully intending to tackle the issue of empty shops, and hoping to see fiscal penalties included in the 2019 Budget to achieve this.

Lead photo: The Brighton Lanes (left, Jay Galvin) could provide inspiration for revamping the area of Colomberie (right, Danrok/Wiki).