Time running out for Opera House to use stimulus cash

Thursday 27 January 2022

The Government may have to find other ways to pay for the refurbishment of the Opera House after the project was delayed due to struggles sourcing contractors.

According to the Treasury Minister, the refurbishment of Jersey Opera House is one of three projects that could miss the deadline for the Fiscal Stimulus Fund.

The theatre, which has been closed since the start of the pandemic, received £2.96m for its refurbishment and maintenance as part of the first tranche of the Fiscal Stimulus Fund - a money pot aimed at stimulating the island’s pandemic-hit economy.

Under the terms of the fund, all of the projects were due to be completed by the end of 2021. However, in July 2021, at least five indicated they would not be able to meet the deadline and were thus granted an extension for an extra three months.

But Deputy Susie Pinel, the Treasury Minister, has now revealed that the Opera House is one of at least three projects that has sought a further extension until the end of June. Grilled by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel on Wednesday, she said it was due to a lack of contractors and suppliers which she said was caused by the spread of the omicron variant.

Pictured: Deputy Susie Pinel, the Minister for Treasury and Resources.

She said the “planning situation” had also caused delays in the completion date of some of the projects.

She said that in those cases, money wouldn’t be withheld from the projects but only “contributed” once they have been completed.

Senator Steve Pallett questioned what would happen if a project was not completed by June and hadn’t started yet.

Deputy Pinel said this was the case for three projects, one of which being Jersey Opera House.

She said the project had been affected by “a huge delay in getting the Project Manager there,” as well as construction issues, although she didn’t provide specifics.

“There are serious construction issues with the Opera House which are not anything to do with the plan they had for the Fiscal Stimulus money,” the Minister said.

“In the case that they run out of time for completion of the project, then we are working very hard with the team to find alternative funding measures for them, so departmental funding measures.”

Express has been asking the Government to explain why the tender process for the refurbishment of Jersey Opera House and Jersey Arts Centre had only started on 1 November 2021, seven months after both organisations were granted funding under the scheme, but they have refused to comment.

They also declined to say whether the process had concluded, who had been appointed and when, and whether work would be completed by Summer 2022 as the tender process advertisement noted.

Last week, Opera House Chairman Pierre Horsfall told Express the team had been left in the dark about the nature of the work being done or when it might be completed.

“The refurbishment is done by the Government, I do not even get to see what they are doing,” he said. “We have been trying to make it happen for nearly two years now, at least a-year-and-a-half, but I do not know what’s happening.”

“We have no idea as to when the refurbishment might be completed,” he added.

“To reopen it, we’ve got to book some performances, some shows, we cannot do that without giving companies a date. We are in limbo.

“Nobody can prepare to put a show on the stage until they know the stage is going to be ready to have them.”