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The Jersey Construction Council has highlighted a series of measures the Government should "prioritise and speed up" to encourage greater support for the construction industry, which it claims could otherwise face increased risk of further redundancies.
The JCC has also urged members of the States Assembly to support the 2024 Government Plan, which contains plans for a £113 million capital programme – including infrastructure and public estate developments – after the industry weathered some "very bad storms" and lost "prominent local businesses".
This year, Jersey's construction sector saw the collapse of construction firms Camerons and JP Mauger, sparking fears of a negative "ripple effect" on the economy.
Citing the loss of "several prominent local businesses", the JCC has created a list of measures it believes the Government should prioritise.
This includes improving the "efficiency" of planning and building permissions processes and setting a mandatory timescale and "service-level" for processing applications.
The JCC has also urged the Government to "stick to their planned spending" on capital projects, homes, schools and other public infrastructure – and has called for "a singular minister with responsibility for the island’s construction industry".
In a statement, the JCC said that, since the beginning of 2023, the local construction industry has been hit by "a perfect storm of rising factory prices and scarcity of materials, increased finance charges and higher wage inflation".
They explained: "If these [support] measures do not happen, there is a strong probability that the challenging economic conditions presently being experienced will result in more organisations finding it very difficult to continue trading profitably, increasing the risks of further redundancies in the sector."
Pictured: JCC chairman Simon Matthews has warned that "each year of missed promises costs the Island millions of extra pounds".
JCC chairman Simon Matthews said the industry accounted for over 6,000 paid employees in the local economy and added around £400 million in GVA each year.
"The industry has recently weathered some very bad storms," he said. "Despite the loss of several prominent local businesses, as an industry we remain very much 'open for business' and resolute in our desire to help the Island build its way out of the present economic climate.
"However, this Government now needs to accelerate and maintain a sustained period of investment to see real progress with their stated aim of improving access to, and the supply of, good-quality affordable housing."
Mr Matthews added that the Council’s members were becoming "increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on planned public spend".
"We urge members of the Assembly to support the 2024 Government Plan, when asked to do so. However, the island needs the Government to stick to their planned spending, in the year they propose to do so.
"Planned spend should be actual spend, and delivery of the government’s proposed spending plans is an absolute must. With cost inflation continuing to be a problem, each year of missed promises costs the Island millions of extra pounds. In 2024, this is especially important to help make up the shortfall in work caused by the slowdown in demand from the private sector."
He stressed that getting projects "shovel-ready" should be prioritised "to ensure the sustained availability of a skilled local construction industry".
"The risks of getting these next 12 months wrong are particularly huge and may involve further economic hardship and duress for our industry if the right decisions are not made."
1. Reducing "red-tape" burden on developers and developments through temporary and permanent easement of Planning and building permission requirements.
2. Put in place the necessary resources to improve the efficiency of Planning and building permissions processes in the Island.
3. Commit to a mandatory timescale and service-level for the processing of Planning and building permissions applications.
4. Resolve and complete the preparation of design briefs, Planning guidance and updated Planning standards promised since the July 2022 (when the Bridging Island Plan was approved).
5. Ensure the real progress of the Government’s own capital spending projects and keep to the promises on spend planned in 2024 and beyond.
6. Get those sites identified for affordable homes ready for redevelopment through accelerating the island-wide infrastructure needed to unlock the sites already-identified in the 2022 Bridging Island Plan.
7. Provide access to a singular Minister with responsibility for the island’s construction industry.
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