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Jersey does have a housing crisis - but the latest stats shouldn't panic the Government into a "knee-jerk" reaction, argues the Progress Party...
Yes, Jersey has a housing crisis and it is serious for those islanders caught up in spiralling prices and lack of affordable homes. Yes, we desperately need new homes for islanders.
However, we must not work to a knee-jerk reaction. The crisis the Alliance-led government has got us into cannot be solved overnight. What we must not do is exacerbate the situation.
If we merely build and build, we will ruin our beautiful Jersey. Building on more and more green fields has to be considered very carefully. After all, there are plenty of brownfield land laying to waste or being under-utilised. What we can do immediately is to maximise the delivery of affordable homes on all States-owned sites (including those owned by SoJDC).
Pictured: "There are plenty of brownfield land laying to waste or being under-utilised."
Fast-track such sites and temporally ease the burden on Andium by allowing them a payment holiday on the circa £30m+ that they pay to Treasury every year which can be used to fund such a fast-track initiative.
The Progress Party supports increasing the supply of share transfer properties back into the local market and ownership by introducing a sales tax on those buy to let properties currently owned by non-residents. This is something that can be actioned almost immediately as even the announcement of such a tax on non-resident landlords will encourage them to sell their Jersey properties into the local market.
We owe it to the future generations of islanders to be smarter, we have to stop this popularist narrative provided by this government and have a grown-up conversation as to why we have this crisis.
While to the Alliance-led government this is a subject to remain in the long grass, unchecked migration into Jersey is and will be part of the issue. This needs to be discussed and solutions debated. While we definitely need and welcome people to come to Jersey to work, we need to be honest as to how we do this. We need a workable population and migration policy now, and not kicked down the road awaiting further data.
Pictured: "We need a workable population and migration policy now."
It really is about demand and supply. As simple and equally as complicated as that. If you don’t deal with demand there will always be an issue with supply.
It is quite concerning that the Housing Minister appears to focus solely on supply in his recent comments.
As set out in this letter, the Progress Party have solutions. Solutions that will not solve the problem overnight, but solutions nonetheless.
Eddie Noel
Treasurer, Progress Party
Former St. Lawrence Deputy and Infrastructure Minister
