Don’t forget about ‘Fred in the Shed’ warns Le Brun

The States need to start thinking about yard space for smaller industrial businesses now, to prevent a future crisis, warns a Deputy with skin in the game.

Deputy Ross Le Brun has previously worked in the construction industry, with his own businesses providing labour to other employers and ‘mole excavating’.

He was among the business owners who lobbied previous States for land to be found for firms being moved out of the Fontaine Vinery site when that land was being cleared for housing around a decade ago.

Now in the States himself, Deputy Le Brun is pushing the Committee for Economic Development to act now to prevent future business owners from having to deal with yard and workspace shortages like he and others had to.

“It’s worth noting that the States only ended up providing replacement yard space after I raised concerns about businesses being displaced from the Fontaine Vinery site,” he explained.

“I was heavily involved in pushing that issue because I felt it was important that local trades and small businesses weren’t simply left without somewhere suitable to operate.“

Land at the Fontaine Vinery was rented by multiple small businesses before being partially cleared over the past decade.

Some of the businesses were moved to the States-owned Griffiths Yard at the Bridge – which is now itself earmarked for development, while the plans to build houses at the Fontaine Vinery have been scrapped with the land now intended to be kept for industrial use.

Economic Development recently told Deputy Le Brun that no businesses have been lobbying them about yard space and workshops so it is not seen as a priority.

He warned that’s because “people don’t yet realise how vulnerable some of this space is”.

Deputy Le Brun said he saw it coming before he was elected to the States and now he’s in government it’s something he wants to focus on.

“I raised it last term with the (Economic Development) committee because I could see where things were heading. Once the area around (St Sampson’s) harbour cranes was identified for higher value housing, it seemed inevitable that businesses based there would eventually need to be relocated. I raised those concerns with a member of Economic Development at the time to bring up in committee discussion.”

Deputy Le Brun said his past experience in lobbying for land for businesses being relocated out of the Fontaine Vinery site gave him an insight into how important it is to provide yard space and workshops to all manner of industries.

Responding to Rule 14 questions posed by Deputy Le Brun, Economic Development confirmed that there isn’t a committee lead for “each and every business sector and sub-sector”.

The committee said Deputies Sasha Kazantseva-Miller and Rhona Humphreys are the leads for the construction sector, but no one does the job for “artisanal producers, craftspeople or small-scale manufacturers”.

“This does not prevent these businesses from engaging with the Committee, and many businesses from smaller or niche sectors have done so,” added Economic Development’s spokesperson.

The Committee also confirmed it has “not formally considered intervening on the provision of studios, workshop or light industrial space” because “it has not been lobbied by businesses to do so, and in light of a compelling case to change its view it would consider this a matter for the market and not one where direct government intervention is a priority”.

Deputy Le Brun told Express that he hopes his recent questions have prompted some thought around how smaller industrial businesses may be helped with land provision in the future.

“My Rule 14 wasn’t really about whether there’s a crisis today,” he said.

“It was about getting the Committee to start thinking ahead. I’d rather we plan for future demand now than wait until businesses are being moved on and asking where they’re supposed to go.”