Fort Regent: Gov "very keen" to get outside area back into use

Saturday 25 November 2023

The future of Fort Regent still appears to hang on the outcome of a structural assessment of its roof, but the Government has said it is "very keen" to get the outside area – once a bustling hive of amenities, entertainment and musical acts – back into use.

Tim Daniels, director of Jersey Property Holdings, also said that politicians could have another "ten or 20 years" to figure out what to do with the ageing sports and leisure complex if its roof material is found to be in good condition.

During a recent scrutiny hearing, Mr Daniels explained that the current assessment of Fort Regent was focused on two main parts.

He said: "[There is] the external area, which we are very keen to open up for amenity use for the public – and we are going through a process of understanding what the health and safety issues are to be able to do that.

"The other angle is the internal space and that's being looked after by the Jersey Development Company at the moment. They have done an initial survey of the roof which indicated that the lattice structure that supports the fabric is safe."

Pictured: The future of Fort Regent is yet to be determined, but the Government has said it is "very keen" to get the external areas back into use.

He continued: "The next step of investigation – that will determine what we do with the Fort and where we go with it – is the assessment of the skin which also has a structural element to it.

"It is a listed building [and] in order to assess the state of that material we need to drill holes in it – we are currently waiting for permission from the planning department to be able to carry out that investigative work.

"As soon as we get it we will do the work and we will be in a much better position to understand what our options are."

He added: "It may be that the material is fine, in which case we have maybe another ten or 20 years or so.

"It may be that the material will need a complete replacement, in which case that is going to be a huge bill."

Pictured: Fort Regent has "reached the end of its useful life", according to Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet.

Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet, who was also present at the scrutiny hearing, stressed that Fort Regent "has reached the end of its useful life" and that it needs "a complete refurbishment".

"Until we know exactly what is required, we can't actually do anything," he said.

"So it's a long period of decanting, because we have got to make sure that everybody is moved out to appropriate premises.

"Then we have got to look at the conditions of the survey – when it is all complete – and decide exactly what we are going to do and how much it is going to cost."