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Funding for an International Cultural Centre and a St Helier skatepark could be among the casualties of a move to ‘”re-prioritise” Government investment.
The two initiatives were highlighted as States Members grilled the Chief Minister during this week's States Assembly meeting, with Deputy Lyndon Farnham saying he could not guarantee both projects would continue as originally envisaged.
When Lyndon Farnham was making his bid to become Chief Minister back in January, he told States Members he believed Government had "become too cumbersome", adding: "It tries to do too much and, in reality, achieves too little, so we must streamline."
It came at a time of pressure to bring down spending from political commentators and the business community – with former Chief Minister Kristina Moore herself pledging to make £30m in savings as she aimed to hang on to the top job.
— Dep. Lyndon Farnham (@lyndonfarnham) March 17, 2024
In a column shared to social media this week, Deputy Farnham made his first clear statement his Ministerial team were now looking closely at where public money was spent and seeking to "re-prioritise" in order that the “best outcomes” were delivered for islanders.
In the States Assembly this week, Deputy Raluca Kovacs sought an assurance from the Chief Minister that the budget would remain in place for the International Cultural Centre, which was set up as part of the previous Chief Minister's 100 Day Plan.
Deputy Farnham said that he could not guarantee that the £300,000 budget would remain intact at this stage, saying the matter would be the subject of “further discussion” among ministers.
Pictured: The ICC delivered the successful Lunar New Year celebrations in 2022 and 2023.
The ICC was behind the £31,000 Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, which saw a number of colourful events held throughout the island over the course of a week to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
It was separately confirmed in a response to a request under the Freedom of Information Law that the cost of staffing the ICC, holding events and running projects totalled £161,857 in 2023 and that "due to the change in Government and Ministers in January 2024, a review of the ICCJ is currently underway".
The terms of that review have not been made public.
Deputy Lucy Stephenson asked the Chief Minister for examples of which projects might be cancelled as a result of re-prioritisation, including the St Helier skatepark.
Deputy Farnham said the skatepark example "sounds like speculation", but repeated his view that government sought to do too much, with ministers looking to identify areas that were not essential.
Details of the re-prioritisation are likely to be shared in a strategic policy document set to be published in early April, he said.
Earlier in question time, Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said satellite skateparks in parish locations, rather than one larger park in St Helier, are likely to receive government investment in the future.
During questions without notice in the States Assembly, the minister, Constable Andy Jehan, outlined how £1 million allocated in the latest Government Plan was likely to be spent.
Mr Jehan said that around £300,000 was set to be spent on improvements to the existing Les Quennevais facility, including floodlighting, while he had also met with the Constable of St Clement about a skatepark in his parish, and would be speaking to other Constables in the near future.
He said: "We have one of the largest skateparks in the British Isles, possibly Europe, at Les Quennevais – it is a fantastic facility, and we are seeking to do two or three smaller parks rather than one larger one."
In 2021, the States Assembly agreed to build a replacement town skate park at South Hill in addition to the Les Quennevais skate park. Progress towards this development was slow, although in October the assistant minister who at the time held responsibility for sport, Deputy Stephenson, said the project was still a priority for the government.
Following the change of government in January, with Mr Jehan having taken on the sports brief, Deputy Stephenson has continued to push for the St Helier facility.
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