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For environmental campaigners, Diamond Jubilee year was sparkling for more reasons than one – it marked the end of a 10-year long fight to save the former Pontins holiday camp from being developed into luxury homes.
In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 60 years on the throne.
The island found several ways to join in the celebrations, from rescuing the headland at Plémont, asking islanders to nominate playing fields they wanted to preserve and the issue of a £100 note.
In December 2011, Plémont Estates Ltd. put forward plans to demolish the Plémont Bay Holiday Village and build a total of 28 new homes.
The holiday village had first opened in the 1934 in the grounds of the Plémont Hotel.
Originally called the Jersey Jubilee Holiday Camp, it became Parkin’s Luxury Holiday Camp at the end of the Occupation and then Pontin’s Holiday Village in the early 1960s.
Video: Plémont before the demolition of the former holiday village.
After undergoing another name change, Plémont Holiday Village closed to tourists in 2001.
Between then and 2012, several plans were submitted to build homes on the site.
The plans from Plémont Estates Ltd. included the demolition of a German Coastal Observation Post and the construction of three housing clusters arranged in courtyards, with 11 four-bedroom homes, two of which replacing existing units, 12 three-bedroom homes and five five-bedroom homes.
The developer also proposed to open part of the site to the public with a gift of all naturalised landscape and grassland, creating 6.6acres of accessible open space.
Video: Demolition work taking place at Plémont in 2015.
Several islanders objected to the plans calling instead for the creation of the “Queen Elizabeth Coastal Park”.
One representation said restoring the area to nature would be “a lasting and wonderful legacy for the people of Jersey” in the Queen’s Jubilee Year.
Another described the site as “a very prominent headland, above one of Jersey's most precious bays” urging it to be protected. “I can think of no finer way of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee and would love to think that HM might be able to visit a restored headland, during her next visit, and unveil a granite plaque formally opening the Queen Elizabeth Coastal Park,” the author wrote.
Pictured: An aerial view of Plémont headland. (Chris Brookes Photographie)
The National Trust for Jersey also proposed to purchase the site so it could be returned to nature as “a commemoration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee”, which was supported by the Council for the Protection of Jersey’s Heritage.
“As the most significant environmental restoration project ever undertaken in Jersey it would be a fitting and appropriate way to mark this historic event and demonstrate the continuing strength of the island's allegiance to the British Crown,” they wrote.
A public inquiry opened in September 2011 and Plémont Estates Ltd. eventually received permission to proceed with their plans. However, in July 2014, they agreed to sell the site for £7.15m to the National Trust for Jersey.
Pictured: The site opened to the public on 24 July 2016.
The purchase marked the successful conclusion of a decade-long campaign from the charity. It was funded through a £3.75m grant from the States of Jersey and donations from generous benefactors and supporters.
Following a further donation of a million, the site was cleared between September 2014 and April 2015. Extensive landscaping followed to improve the public access and create assets for the local wildlife, this included the creation of two ponds, a discovery zone for children and several bat boxes, as well as the planting of 2,000 trees and shrubs.
The site opened to the public on 24 July 2016.
In October 2012, the Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, invited the Comité des Connétables to ask their parishioners to nominate sites for the QE II Fields Challenge. It formed part of an initiative launched in the UK to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by permanently protecting hundreds of outdoor recreational spaces, with a target of at least 2,012 spaces.
After the scheme was adapted to fit Jersey’s laws, it was decided parishioners would be best placed to nominate outdoor recreational areas they would like to see safeguarded for future generations to enjoy.
The process saw the cricket pitch and rugby field at Grainville School designated as a ‘Queen Elizabeth Field’.
The report accompanying the official Ministerial Decision signed in April 2012 stated: “Once lost, recreational space is lost for ever. In Jersey we have a finite resource and we must protect it for future generations. Access to outdoor space is vital for communities and plays an important role in providing a place for both physical activity and relaxation.
“Sport and play are essential tools for developing confidence, self-esteem and learning the importance of team work. It is well documented that community recreation reduces alienation, loneliness and anti-social behaviour whilst also promoting ethnic and cultural harmony.”
It added that the Queen Elizabeth II Field dedication would prove an “ideal opportunity” to mark the celebration of both the Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Jersey.
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Pictured: ‘Equanimity’ was a collaboration between artist Chris Levine and holographer Robert Munday of UK company Spatial Imaging.
Local celebrations also included the issue of a new £100 note. The decision was announced by the then-Treasury and Resources Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, in August 2011.
The note featured the world’s first holographic portrait of the Queen, ‘Equanimity’, which had been commissioned by Jersey Heritage Trust on behalf of the island to mark the 800th anniversary of the island’s allegiance to the Crown.
It was first illuminated in 2004 by HRH Prince Charles at Jersey Museum as part of his visit during the 1204-2004 celebrations.
The portrait also featured on a £10 commemorative Jersey Post Diamond Jubilee stamp.
Commenting on the use of the portrait on the note, Jersey Heritage Trust Director, Jon Carter, said: “We commissioned this portrait to show the value of Jersey's traditions in a very contemporary way, so we are really pleased at the tremendous international publicity it has generated for the Island. The new banknote will take that even further.”
The portrait was created through a creative collaboration between artist Chris Levine and holographer Robert Munday of UK company Spatial Imaging.
It was selected as a lead image in the National Portrait Gallery's touring Jubilee exhibition 'The Queen: Art and Image' whilst a copy was put on display in Mont Orgueil’s Tudor Hall.
Video: Jersey Heritage captured the creation of the holographic portrait.
Senator Ozouf said a commemorative note was “a fitting way” to commemorate the Golden Jubilee.
In order to issue a new £100 note, he had to ask the States Assembly to amend the 1959 law which limited the maximum denomination of any currency note to £50.
The issue of the banknote was part of a wider project to use the holographic portrait to promote the island internationally throughout the Jubilee year.
Local art adviser Philip Hewat-Jaboor, who passed away in April 2022, acted in an honorary capacity to help with this.
“This portrait of the Queen is a moving and powerful image of statehood and will, in this Diamond Jubilee year, allow us many exciting opportunities to present to the wider world a better understanding of our Island and our allegiance to the monarchy,” he said in 2011.
The note, officially issued on 1 June 2012, was among those considered for international recognition with the ‘Best New Banknote Award’ in the International Association of Currency Affairs’ (IACA) Excellence in Currency Awards and ’The Banknote of the Year Award’ in the International Bank Note Society’s (IBNS).
Sadly, Jersey’s commemorative notes was beaten to the post for both awards. The former was won by the Bank of Canada’s polymer series, which also features the Queen, whilst the latter went to a 1000 Tenge denomination Kazakhstan note dedicated to Kultegin - the Monument of the Turkic Runic Writing.
Video: ‘Jersey: Royal Island’ launched on 1 May 2012.
The creation of the note featured in a 12-minute long film launched as part of the Jubilee’s events produced by Colonial Pictures.
Titled ‘Jersey: Royal Island’, the short film not only featured footage from Jersey’s past and but also provided a detailed snapshot of the island’s history, relationship to the Crown, scenery and key industries.
In 2013, Jersey’s Treasury decided to present specially-framed £100 notes to every Jersey baby born on the same day as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child, Prince George.
Three girls born at Jersey General Hospital on Monday 22 July received the gift.
“We are pleased that the Treasury can help to mark this special occasion,” Senator Ozouf commented at the time. “It is particularly appropriate that we can do so by with the special £100 commemorative note, issued to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – the truly innovative banknote that celebrates Jersey’s loyalty to the Crown. We hope the engraved framed notes will mark the special day for the children for years to come.”
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Pictured top: A bird's eye view of the Plemont headland. (Chris Brookes Photographie)
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