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The Environment Minister has expressed his "full support" for his Assistant Minister after she threw out plans for a £120m town revamp and housing project – leaving the Chief Minister "extremely disappointed".
Last month, Deputy Hilary Jeune rejected an appeal by property company Le Masurier for its ‘Les Sablons’ project, to build 238 flats and a 103-bed ‘aparthotel’ on 2.5 acres of mostly cleared land between Broad Street and Commercial Street.
After news broke of the rejection, Chief Minister Kristina Moore – who was away on leave at the time – took the extraordinary step of making a statement saying she was “extremely disappointed” to learn that the £120m project has been rejected, “particularly given that it has been recommended for approval by an independent planning inspector”.
This itself prompted criticism, with some backbench politicians raising questions about the level of unity within the Council of Ministers.
"John Le Fondré knew how to be loyal to his colleagues" - former Environment Minister John Young, after the Chief Minister took the extraordinary step of speaking against her Assistant Minister's decision to throw out a £120m town scheme.
— Bailiwick Express (@bailiwickxpress) October 24, 2023
Read more ⬇️https://t.co/eGtPxW2QH3
In the States Assembly on Tuesday, Deputy Jeune’s ministerial boss, Deputy Jonathan Renouf, took the opportunity to publicly express his support for his assistant.
Answering a question from St Brelade Constable Mike Jackson on whether he intended to review Deputy Jeune’s decision, Deputy Renouf said the planning application was still live and could still be appealed to the Royal Court.
However, he added: “I wish to make it clear that Deputy Jeune acted with complete probity, carefully, with great diligence, she did nothing wrong and she has my full support.”
Deputy Renouf said that while there was no formal training for ministers when making planning decisions, “full and comprehensive” advice from officers was available.
However, he added that, ultimately, the decision came down to the ministers’ judgment.
Later, Deputy Moore also faced a question on what advice she had considered regarding the ministerial Code of Conduct before she had made her comments.
She replied: “I always seek to ensure that I act in accordance with the code of conduct, my officials would advise me if I was to take any action in breach of that. I do not consider that I had breached the code of conduct and practice and I do not believe any advice to the contrary.”
She added: “It’s quite clear that I was disappointed by the decision as the leader of this government. My job is to ensure that the team which operates within government takes decisions and shares priorities of the entire government.
“At the beginning of this process, we went through that process of agreeing our priorities for this government, one of those is a relentless focus on housing.
“I cannot make it clearer that housing is at the root of so many issues in the island, and it is the public’s expectation that we deliver a greater level of housing. My team should take decisions that deliver on those priority.”
Facing further questions, Deputy Moore agreed that that the integrity of the planning process was of vital importance and should not be undermined.
At the time the plans were launched, Express spoke to Mr McCarthy about the vision for Les Sablons and the wider regeneration of St. Helier...
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