Passions were high at a public meeting at the Havre des Pas swimming pool on Thursday evening – when supporters of a proposed charity looking to run the site vented their frustrations over Government plans to lease the pool to a commercial operator.
The 100-or-so people there included governors of a rival community group bidding to take on the tidal pool, as well as politicians, current lease-holders and long-time users of the publicly-owned facility.
The meeting was tense, dominated by discussions over whether the tender process had been done properly ahead of a States Assembly vote next week.
The meeting was organised by Deputy David Warr, who has led the States’s Lido Steering Group, which in turn formed Love Our Lido – who brand themselves as a community organisation that will become a charity.
The group was offered “preferred bidder” status, but talks collapsed and a company called First Point was offered the lease instead.
Speaking tonight, Giles Robson, a governor of the proposed charity, said the Lido belonged to islanders – and that islanders wanted it to be a community-run venue.
He alleged a number of issues with the tender process, including being given 23 working days to investigate the site and to fix and sign the lease.
Deputy Warr said they had estimated the site would cost around £120,000 to run.
Moments of shouting peppered the evening, which was attended by Deputy Warr, St Helier South deputies, as well as St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, and two proposed Love Our Lido governors.
There were no representatives from First Point.
Mr Crowcroft said that no States member would “put out a message that the Government of Jersey will interfere with tender processes unless there’s something seriously wrong with it”.
Marcus Calvani, whose company BeServed has operated the Lido for nine years, said being in the building was painful after “nine years of living hell” and claimed that he had been “targeted”.
A proposition from Deputy Warr is due to be heard in the Assembly next week which, if approved, would force the States to offer a lease to Love Our Lido and give the group £170,000 every year for maintenance.