Gov distances itself from Parker's £400m Fort price tag

Wednesday 11 August 2021

The Government says it does not recognise a £400m price tag for redeveloping Fort Regent published in a recent official report from a company linked to its former CEO Charlie Parker.

The figure was included as part of Mr Parker’s profile in the annual report of New River, a real estate investment company, which he joined as a non-executive last September.

It said that Mr Parker, who resigned as head of the civil service in November following concerns about the New River appointment and the way it was approved by ministers, had been involved in the “preparation of a £400m mixed-use leisure, conference and family entertainment complex” in Jersey.

Although earmarked for those uses, Fort Regent’s redevelopment costs have not been published before; however, the Government said it did not know where the £400m figure came from and it was far too early to estimate the budget.

Pictured: Former Government CEO Charlie Parker has joined the board of property investment company New River.

Assistant Economic Development Minister Hugh Raymond, who has political responsibility for sport, said he had never heard of the £400m figure.

“I’ve never discussed £400m and the only certain figure for Fort Regent is the £4.5m budgeted in the current Government Plan, and a significant part of that will be spent on removing asbestos and making the place safe.

Pictured: Plans for the potential redevelopment of Fort Regent.

“There has been £100m mentioned in connection with the entire project to upgrade all sports facilities, including the creation of an Island Stadium, but nothing near £400m.”

Deputy Raymond added that plans to redevelop the Napoleonic fort, with its distinctive white roof, which was added in 1974, were dependent on finding a suitable home for all users currently there.

Also, its develop would only progress once the vaccination centre was no longer needed.

In June, the Government launched its Future Fort project, which includes proposals to create botanical gardens and build a casino, hotel, multiplex cinema and 2000-seat auditorium.

A public consultation closed at the end of last month, with the results of a survey due to be published soon.