Plans for new sporting academy in St Peter

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Schools, junior athletes and the Island's elite sportsmen and women could soon have a new place to train.

Former professional rugby player and coach Ben Harvey is behind plans to build a sporting academy next to the Airport.

He's been working with local entrepreneurs on plans to develop a site in St Peter, owned by Jersey Rugby Club, which would not only give their rugby players a place to train but all sporty Islanders from the age of 12 upwards.

Ben Harvey said: "We are an independent company seeking to build and operate a state-of-the-art sports academy with the core purpose of assisting sports and athletes from Jersey to achieve their potential.

"Islanders will also be able to take up paid membership, enabling anyone to benefit from the facilities and expertise on site. This paid element, together with private sponsorship, will fully fund the Academy and allow it to operate totally independently of any States funding.

"Access to the facility and our expert staff for schools during the school term will be free and our junior programs will be accessible to the entire community.

“We will be aiming to help the sports and schools identify, nurture and support talent so that every child has the opportunity to fulfil their sporting potential. We will be able to develop thousands of school children every year and support hundreds of the best athletes on the Island, working on behalf of the individual sports."

Jersey Rugby Club Chairman Bill Dempsey said: "The club has worked closely with Ben and his team in getting these proposals to the stage of being ready to seek planning approval, and we are fully behind the project.

"The Sports Academy will provide excellent training facilities for our players, and will be a useful asset for the club on match-days, but will also serve in identifying and developing young players as part of our stated intention to include local talent within our 1st team squad.

"Rugby will be just one of the sports that stands to benefit from this proposal, which I believe stands to be of huge benefit to the Island as a whole."

Mr Harvey said the facility would help deliver world class practitioner services here like sports science, athletic development and sports medicine and help attract some top athletes to the Island.

He said: "We have had interest from some of the world's best athletes and sports teams wishing to come on training camps to Jersey, meaning that our local children can see first hand some of their heroes and raise their aspirations and aid the local tourism trade.”