Kart plan crashes out at first corner

Friday 07 February 2014

Parish officials have been sent back to the starting grid after plans to lease out a kart track failed to get the green light from residents.

St John Constable Phil Rondel will now have to come up with fresh plans after parishioners told him that they wanted to keep ownership of the road but let the Jersey Karting and Motor Club continue to use it for kart racing. An audience of 90 people attended the Parish Hall this week for the meeting, and knocked back plans by Mr Rondel and the States to sell the road to the parish and lease it to the club.

Mr Rondel said: “People are happy to have the kart club and the current arrangements. They were very concerned that the number of ‘user days’ which is limited to 19 per year might be extended if it is extinguished.

“The next step is to talk to the club and the States’ Property Holdings department and sort it all out. I’m more than happy to do that – everyone can be winners instead of having something pushed through.”

The road is currently owned by the States but they are looking to extinguish it as a public highway. Parishioners were asked to consider buying it as a parish road to rent to the Kart Club, who have been racing at the Sorel loop road since 1999.

The anti-clockwise circuit is run on a closed road which is set up as a race track by the club every weekend between March & October and attracts competitors as young as six.