OPEN LETTER: "Caution" over Play.com site school suggestion

Monday 31 October 2022

Ministers have responded with "caution" to Reform Jersey Deputies' suggestion of considering the former Play.com site for a new school.

Here's what the Chief Minister, and Education, Housing and Infrastructure Ministers had to say...

Dear Deputies,

Thank you for your letter dated 26 October 2022.

As Ministers, we are committed to delivering improvements in the quality of life of Islanders – and that includes new modern primary schools that are part of local communities, and more green space for those who live in St. Helier.

We are advancing our plans to achieve this – including more green space at the current Springfield School site once it is vacated and we have a new replacement school, and the Gas Place site, as well as elsewhere in town, so that all residents are within easy reach of high-quality outdoor spaces they can enjoy.

Pictured: Areas Ministers are considering for new schools.

We will also deliver more good quality housing, working closely with Andium Homes and others - as part of sustainable and vibrant communities, with active travel routes for cycling and walking.

While we welcome your suggestions for prospective sites for a new town primary school, we must express caution. It is important that any work for a new school, as well as being rapid, is properly costed and considered within a wider strategic approach to our overall urban environment.

We must also support Andium Homes, taking care to avoid detracting from its effective work delivering much needed homes. At this point, the whole of the site is not in public ownership, and only today Andium acquired part of the site to commence the construction of new homes.

As the work progresses, we will respect the decisions of the Assembly, including the proposition of Deputy Gardiner in 2021, and the Island Plan Amendment from Deputy Ward in 2021.

As the heart of our island, and home to a third of islanders, we take the responsibility of improving the quality of life of town residents seriously. This new government has moved quickly on these matters, and after delays in the past, we are confident that we can start 2023 with a clear direction on key public sites and better access to quality spaces in St. Helier. We hope you will welcome this.