The ongoing problems around fixing Alderney’s runway have led to a planned review of the wider relationship between Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.
The most recent estimates for redeveloping Alderney’s runway, airport terminal, and airport fire station have come in between £25 and £55 million.
Guernsey’s Policy and Resources Committee had already said that it won’t spend above £24.1m on it.
As the decision making process has dragged on and the estimated costs have escalated, P&R now says “the relationship between Guernsey and Alderney should be resettled to ensure that both sides have a clear and shared understanding of the parameters and reasonable expectations”.
P&R says to work out the details – including whether the 1948 Agreement remains fit for purpose – it wants to set up “a constitutional commission to consider objectively the relationships between Guernsey and Alderney and how they could work together better in the future”.
That commission won’t start work until this summer, with a report expected back from it by the end of next year.
Although the 1948 Agreement is a constitutional contract for transferred services between Guernsey and Alderney, Sark is also going to be involved.
“The intention is that the commission members could consider the relationships between Guernsey and Alderney, and Guernsey and Sark, separately, but there would need to be coordination between the two strands to ensure that any Bailiwick- wide issues could be properly considered,” said P&R.
Deputy Lyndon Trott OBE, President of the Policy & Resources Committee said all transferred services will be reviewed by the Commission.
“Strong and resilient transport links are critical to the success of island communities. However, we cannot ignore the challenging fiscal situation that the States of Guernsey finds itself in. The Committee considers that it is impossible to justify an investment of the scale evidenced by the tender for Option C+ and the subsequent RPS investigations at the end of last year, which goes beyond the £24 million allocated to the project by the States in December 2022.
“The time has come for a radical reconsideration of this project. It is necessary to find a functional solution, that can achieve a reasonable level of connectivity for the Alderney community within the current financial limits of the States of Guernsey.
“Over the last decade of debate on the rehabilitation of Alderney Airport’s runway, the topic of the 1948 Agreement has been raised time and time again, including whether it remains fit for purpose in the 21st century, not just in relation to the airport but about other transferred services too.
“It is clear to the Policy & Resources Committee that there is a serious need for a constitutional committee, established collaboratively with the other islands, that can focus on reviewing the relationships within the Bailiwick and make recommendations for the parliaments of the islands to consider.”
Bill Abel, Chair of Alderney’s Policy & Finance Committee, confirmed his island’s support for the Commission too.
“The rehabilitation of the airport is of paramount importance to Alderney and its community, and the Bailiwick Commission is a long-awaited formal proposal which seeks to benefit the Bailiwick as a whole,” he said.
“We look forward to engaging with the States of Guernsey on taking both of these matters forward.”