Guernsey Tomorrow Update
INITIAL findings of the opening workshop of the ‘Guernsey Tomorrow’ project have shown just how difficult a task it is to juggle priorities for the island’s future.
The States Strategic Land Planning Group (SLPG) now wants more people involved to gain the widest possible feedback before any options are prepared for consideration.
SLPG chairman Deputy Bernard Flouquet said:
‘I think if people took away one thing from Saturday’s [20 September] experience it might be that you can’t have your cake and eat it.
‘There may be a list of things which individuals think are important or desirable, but when you can only have some of them, which will almost certainly be the case, people start to focus more on their choices.’
There was widespread enthusiasm at last Saturday’s event for the Guernsey Tomorrow process, which encourages everyone to contribute to the States Strategic Land Use Plan, which prioritises how we inhabit and use the space we have in the island.
This plan sets the direction for the Environment Department to produce the Urban and Rural Area Plans, and therefore has a real influence on the future ‘shape’ of Guernsey.
It is hoped that through Guernsey Tomorrow, islanders will identify the key issues, challenges and opportunities the island is facing.
Once these issues are known, people will be asked to generate options for the future direction of the island.
At Saturday’s event, a number of the issues highlighted when individual delegates were allowed a ‘free vote’ failed to make it to the final shortlist of key issues after they had been asked to take part in a ‘trade off’ game in groups.
These included encouraging the revitalisation of empty property and adapting school sites for greater community use, both of which gained individual support from about 50% of the delegates attending.
Among the issues rated most important coming out of the first session were:
• Solid support for waste recycling;
• Considering climate change issues in strategic planning;
• Increasing the availability of a skilled workforce; and
• Sustaining a viable dairy industry.
‘These are interesting findings in their own right, but this is a very early stage,’ said Deputy Flouquet.
‘We need more general feedback from individuals and organisations. This process is not about boiling down options at an early stage – we want to open up more widely to ideas and views before we start thinking about solutions and practicalities.
‘So I value these points, but I want to see much more so that we can make sure that States members are better-informed when they get to making decisions.’
The full results of the workshop – who was there and what was said – will be posted on the project’s website.
The staff steering group is currently considering a number of options for taking the workshop process forward.
