Campaigners stumped by car park clearance

Wednesday 11 February 2015

Environmental campaigners say the States need to down tools and go back to the drawing board with their plans for the Esplanade car park and stop what they are calling "illegal landscaping" on the site.

Trees and shrubs were dug up and stripped from the site at the weekend – work the Environment department say is part of plans approved 18 months ago to build a temporary car park south of the underpass.

But David Cabeldu from Save Our Shoreline – the campaign group set up to protect the Island’s shoreline from pollution and bad planning issues – argues the scheme isn’t delivering what it originally promised and needs to be stopped.

Mr Cabeldu said: "The planning conditions that were approved with Building 4 have changed. If the temporary car park works (by the underpass) are done under the building 4 consent, then the JDC should be replacing the car park immediately, on the Esplanade, under the phasing plan they submitted with the building 4 application.

"But the overarching reason that the JDC should be stopped before they wreak years (decades) of havoc on the Waterfront is that the States approved by 40 votes to 1 in 2008 that if substantial changes were made to the master plan (and they have been) then the whole scheme would be brought back by the Chief Minister.

"The scheme does not now deliver what it promised and crucially the road will not be sunk nor the underground car park supplied. There will be no benefit to the public for decades if at all.

"For that reason if no other then the scheme should be halted and the promises made to the States by the Chief Minister of the time in 2008 kept and the States wishes obeyed."

Buildings 1 and 4 and the public underground car park have all been given planning permission. Building 5 is still waiting to be approved and the Environment department say the work on the car park has nothing to do with this application.

They say they are still to agree with the States of Jersey Development Company what landscaping will be planted to replace what’s been dug up.