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Details revealed in previously confidential ministerial e-mails have re-opened a disagreement over whether they reneged on a deal to pay St Helier £83,000 in return for giving up land for a new electricity sub-station.
After an investigation by the JEC into over 40 sites to build a new sub-station, it was concluded that the best place would be on the side of Westmount Gardens at West Park.
According to St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, it was a controversial decision, which, “…upset a lot of parishioners” but was only allowed to pass due to a deal struck that would see the Parish awarded a new plot of woodland and third of a million pounds - £250,000 from the JEC and £83,000 from the States in compensation for the loss.
Then in April 2015 Constable Crowcroft accused ministers of reneging on that deal - despite making St Helier one of their top strategic priorities - by taking the promised 'new' money out of funds which had already been allocated to St Helier for urban renewal work instead.
Pictured: The works on Westmount.
And last week, a previously confidential e-mail emerged – part of a batch obtained by Express under the Freedom of Information Law – which confirmed that the £83k wasn't 'new' money....but said that had never been the agreement between the Treasury Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf and the Parish after all.
It was written on 21 October 2014 by Deputy Eddie Noel, an Assistant Treasury Minister:
"I have been asked to address your concerns re the £83k from TTS's 'Fiscal Stimulus and Urban Regeneration Projects'. It was always agreed that £83k worth of works would be funded by the States for a Parish urban project as part of the Westmount/JEC deal.
The above budget line is not solely for the use of St Helier and the original agreement between Treasury and the Parish (as set out in the minutes of the Parish Assembly) reflect that the £83k is not "new" money from Treasury.
I trust that this clarifies matters.
It's good to see that the project has finally started."
And then a week later, he sent a follow up:
"I gather that the explanation I sent you does not meet with your own recollection of what was agreed between the Treasury Minister and yourself. As I was not present during all of the meetings/discussions I could only base my reply to you on what was written down in MD's parish minutes etc.
Perhaps a way forward is for the Ian, Philip and yourself and I to meet and resolve this."
Constable Crowcroft is adamant that the Parish agreed to extra funding of £83k in return for ceding the land, not a redirection of existing funds, and therefore ministers broke their promise.
Pictured: Constable Simon Crowcroft expressed concerns that the States had reneged on their deal to award 'compensation' to the Parish.
“There was no question that parishioners would have accepted a redirection in the Ministers’ budget of proposed spending on St Helier, because that would effectively negate the deal that was put to the Assembly.
“I’ve never had it suggested to me that it was not new money. If it turns out that the Minister has effectively deprived the Parish of that money, then he’s broken his word,” he told Express.
He added: "It is just not good enough that the Parish is treated this way. When you think of what St Helier takes for the Island, and in terms of the bulk of new development and new housing, and most of the traffic problems, we take all that on, and yet the States keep doing this kind of thing behind our back."
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