Green space or primary school? Opinions divided on the future of the old Jersey Gas site
Education
Environment
Opinions are divided on what should be done with the former Jersey Gas site in St Helier: a new school or an extended park.
After years of discussions, St Helier Connétable Simon Crowcroft has lodged a proposition, urging politicians to reconsider building a new school in the space next to Millennium Town Park.
Instead, he is fighting to extend the existing green area and says building would restrict the amount of space for public use.
The Education Minister, Deputy Rob Ward, wants to close St Luke's and Springfield schools once this new one is up and running.
Defending the current plans, Deputy Ward says: "This also comes with the old Springfield site becoming a park for that area, plus Les Bas Centre becoming a green space, so we are increasing those types of areas.
"At the moment, those students at St Luke's and Springfield have no green space to run about in during their breaktimes, so every single day they miss out.
"With a new school, they will have that. This is just as equally important for them."
Deputy Ward adds: "Staff are having to work miracles every day with the facilities they have. This was agreed some years ago and should be in place by now, but we seem to be taking this for debate again.
"I just want us to get on with building the new school, which has always been so needed."
However, Connétable Crowcroft says this project would prevent his plan to expand Millennium Town Park.
In his proposition, he says: "I make no bones about wanting the Assembly to reconsider the decision taken in the Bridging Island Plan... to build a new primary school on the only site which could ever be used to extend the Millennium Town Park.
"I am passionate about parks, and my belief in their environmental, social, therapeutic and economic value to the whole community has only grown since the pandemic."
He adds: "I am fighting so hard to get the park extended because you can build a new school, if you need to, somewhere else, but you can't extend the town park anywhere else but here."
The earliest date politicians will debate Connétable Crowcroft's proposition is Tuesday 24 June.
Sasha Gibb, who founded a local group to give the community a voice on how public space is used, adds: "97% of the kids are Springfield School already don't have outdoor green space of their own. The park is their greenspace, the park is their school, they are intertwined.
"There is no reason why the solution should not embrace both, a fantastic school and a fantastic park, and I know that we can do that.
"It is not about polarising and setting a political agenda against one another."
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