£642k one-off payment could fund Havre des Pas renovation

Wednesday 01 November 2017

A one-off payment of £642,000 - money originally set aside for the States to pay rates - could be put to use in a "long anticipated" village improvement scheme in Havre des Pas.

38 States members voted in favour of a proposition put forward by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft which will see each parish receive ex-gratia payments, ranging from £2,756 to St Mary to £642,130 to St Helier.

Simon Crowcroft's proposition aimed to release funds that had been budgeted for the purpose of the government paying rates on States buildings, which had been agreed by States Members last year. In his opening speech, Constable Crowcroft said he wanted the money to be passed over "to the parishes in their wisdom to work out what to do with it." He added that he would put the matter before ratepayers to ask them what they would like to see happen in St Helier before stating that "a village improvement scheme in Havre des Pas," which has been long anticipated by residents, would surely be on the cards.

As per his proposition, which was adopted 38 votes for and four against, each parish will receive money that they will be free to spend. 

Pictured: Parishes will now be able to choose how they spend their one-off payments. Constable Simon Crowcroft will be asking the St Helier Parish Assembly for their thoughts, but believes that improving the Havre des Pas area is likely to be on the cards.

Speaking following the debate, Constable Crowcroft told Express that while he was happy with the result, he acknowledged that there was still "a lot of work to be done" to ensure that the States keep their promise of finally paying rates, lessening the burden on current ratepayers. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that this could be made more difficult after the Treasury Minister "more or less gave up on the project after a hostile reception from the Committee of Constables."

He commented: "It was an important debate not just for St Helier but for progress towards this very overdue matter which is particularly unfair with regards to the urban parishes because we lose so much potential income every year when properties get taken over by the States.

"The rates system as a whole needs to be organised in such a way that this [payment of rates] can happen every year without me having to take to the barricades. I don’t want to have this fight any more… It’s as basic as paying your phonebill and water bill and for most ratepayers in Jersey – whether business or domestic – it’s normal to pay rates. And I am just hoping at the end of this year we can convince enough members of the States to make this a permanent arrangement, because it is an issue of fairness. It’s not being greedy. The parishes with the greatest number of States properties are deprived of the income that they would otherwise get for running their parishes."

Pictured: A breakdown of the sums that will be received by each parish.

Deputy Eddie Noel, the Minister for Infrastructure, had however submitted an amendment so that the money would be transferred to the DfI "to be spent on infrastructure projects in each of the parishes." He described it as a "compromise option", explaining that DfI already undertakes a lot of work in parishes - "sometimes not as much as constables would like us to do", as they are limited by resources and funds. 

While most States members agreed with Simon Crowcroft's proposition, Deputy Noel's faced opposition. St Saviour Constable Sadie Sueur-Le Renard, described it as a "backhanded way of getting money", adding: "This is money I have promised to my parishioners and we are going to spend it on what we want, not what the deputy thinks he would like."

Senator Philip Ozouf spoke against Deputy Noel's amendment, saying that the ex-gratia payment was only there to fix a mistake in the Medium Term Financial Plan. He added: "It is not money lying around, it is money that has been allocated for the dealing of the unfair burden that some parishes don’t have, but I’m sorry, other parishes do. It is redressing an unfairness that has been in place for years."

Pictured: Constable Crowcroft told Express that he was "pleased and grateful" to States Members for their support on the ex-gratia payments, but was disappointed that the Treasury Minister had this year failed to bring forward proposals for the States to pay rates on their buildings.

Some States members appeared to be confused by the idea of the amendment. Deputy Judith Martin said it "muddied the water", stating that DfI shouldn’t have the last word on what the parishes want to do. Deputy Simon Brée said he was "at a complete loss why this amendment has been brought in the first place", adding that it was an attempt to take the control out of Parishes' hands. "Why would the Minister seek to take control of that money?" he asked before urging his fellow States members to "throw this amendment out and go back to important debate."

30 members voted against Deputy Noel's amendment with 13 members, including the Chief Minister and Deputy Noel, voting in favour.