Lack of public support prevents sea wall railings in St Brelade
It said: "The proposed measures seek to balance safety concerns and the technical advice with these views and are proposed as a practical and pragmatic compromise."To avoid increased urban clutter, it is proposed that the measures could be introduced progressively, with their effectiveness and user acceptability assessed overtime, in terms of balancing the need to improve safety and minimise visual impact."The department added the new additions would help inform "whether further future intervention would be required to ensure public safety".
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BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Jersey minister says delays to new school 'not an option'
Jersey's education minister has called on all sides to work together to "build a better future" for the island's Rob Ward said plans for a primary school to be built on a site formerly used by Jersey Gas near Millennium Park in St Helier were a "moral and civic priority".However, a proposition from Constable of St Helier Simon Crowcroft has asked the government to review the plans. Members of the Friends of the Millennium Park have also criticised the plans and believe local opinion has been said the new school was needed to replace inadequate and outdated facilities and delaying the plans was "not an option". He called on all sides to engage in discussions around the project and visit the existing schools to "understand the urgency" of needing a new added: "Let's work together to build a better future - for our children, our community and our town." 'Facing a choice' The education minister said arguments against the school based on Jersey's falling birth rate were missing the point, in his opinion."Some claim falling birth rates mean we don't need new facilities," he said."But this isn't about increasing capacity, it's about replacing inadequate schools."Ward added the government's plans had already been allocated funding while proposals to extend the park - which Friends of Millennium Park chairman Bernie Manning said would be better - had not been costed."We face a choice - thoughtful, integrated planning that meets educational, environmental, and community needs - or fragmented ideas that ignore the realities of our town," Ward said. Speaking previously to the BBC, Mr Manning said he did not think St Helier's deputies were doing enough to reflect the views of Manning said most members of the Friends of Millennium Park who he had spoken to did not think a new school was needed and would rather have a park extension."With the amount of people now using the park, we definitely need to extend the park all the way to St Saviour's Road," he said. In his proposition, Crowcroft said he would like the Council of Ministers to present a report to the States Assembly by the end of said he would like to report to include an assessment of the need for a new school, have up to date financial projections and the traffic impact of the plans.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
More free Jersey nursery hours won't fix 'broken' system
A family campaigner says Jersey's childcare system is "broken", as the government announces plans to introduce 15 hours of free nursery care for island's education minister Deputy Rob Ward said he would propose plans in September as part of the 2026-2029 budget, to be debated by the States in November. The government currently offers up to 30 funded hours of nursery care for children aged three to four, available for 38 weeks of the year during school and campaigner Denise Heavey said the extra 15 hours was not enough to help the island's families who were struggling, and called for a complete overhaul of the care sector. Ms Heavey said the current childcare system was "broken" with a lot of parents in Jersey said more parents were using food banks, with many working two jobs and trying to fit childcare around said the choice to look after children at home had been taken away from parents because the island was so said 15 hours of funded nursery care for two-year-olds was not enough to support families, particularly with many businesses not offering flexible working hours."From when parents come back to work after maternity leave, there needs to be some kind of funding available so that parents don't have to pay the extortionate nursery fees," she said. Ms Heavey said, in general, the island's nurseries did a fantastic job but they should be given more support and more added that a complete overhaul of the care sector should be a first port of call for government. Ward said he was aware of how critical the childcare sector was, adding this was evidenced by the plan to increase said addressing challenges should be a shared responsibility, not the government's said factors such as the cost of living, a falling birth rate, and the increasing number and complexity of children with additional needs required continuing government focus on the sector. Fiona Vacher from the early years charity Jersey Child Care Trust said the island's nurseries, much like those in the UK, were struggling with said: "We've seen locally a number of retirements and since Covid a number of people leaving the sector and re-evaluating what they would like to do."She added that 80% of a child's brain was developed by three years old, so it was essential the government considered its role in childcare to give young people the best start in life. Manager at Acrewood nursery Kirsty Haslehurst said her struggle to find quality staff meant she had to reduce her opening hours, from a 18.00 finish to 16.30."The hours in nurseries are long and trying to get staff that can work those long hours was difficult, they had no work-life balance," she said the responsibility put on nursery staff was greater than in other jobs, adding it was a challenge to meet the attractive wages and working conditions of local office said other nurseries in Jersey had faced similar issues. Mother Gemma Parlett said she had just made the difficult decision to return to work, putting her 10-month-old daughter in the care of said the nursery's reduced opening times meant she had to work fewer said: "Obviously that has a financial implication for us so it's a lot of juggling."She said early years education was "crucial" for the next generation and it should be better supported."My baby's only 10 months old, she's extremely fragile and she needs to be well looked after and nurtured and there should be more support for that," she added.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Falling birth rate in Jersey a 'ticking bomb'
Jersey's falling birth rate is a "ticking bomb" for the island, the housing minister Sam Mézec said the declining rate, combined with an ageing population, posed a huge comments come after a Policy Centre Jersey report based on data from the Superintendent Registrar showed the number of births in Jersey between 2021 and 2024 fell by 20% compared to a 5% drop in England and birth rate in the first half of 2025 was 4% lower than the first half of 2024, figures also showed. Mézec said difficulty finding the right home was putting young families off having children in Jersey, and he had friends who "moved away from Jersey so they can afford to have children".He said: "They just can't find the kind of home they want to bring their children up in, a place with enough bedrooms, outdoor space, and over the last few decades that has become more and more unaffordable in Jersey.""We will have problems if we don't have a large enough working population providing the services and paying the taxes supporting the young and the retired.""We need to be planning now for policies that start to reverse that trend, and that means supporting younger people into family-sized homes." Smaller communities 'vulnerable' He added: "What's our working demographic going to look like in 20 or 30 years if we don't have enough young people going through our education system and going into work when they reach adulthood to provide the services that supports the whole of society including the ageing population?"This could be a ticking bomb if we don't get this right."Mark Boleat, a senior advisor at the Policy Centre Jersey, said it was concerning the local birth rate was falling faster than other centre's report found the number of babies born in Jersey in 2024 had fallen by 10% compared to the year before, and the number of primary school pupils had fallen by 5.6% in the last two Boleat said smaller communities such as Jersey were more vulnerable to falling said: "In a big country, it can fall but it doesn't have quite the effect. In Jersey, the fall... over the last few years is already having a very significant effect."So, over the last couple of years in England, the number of births has fallen 5%. In Jersey, it's fallen by 20%. We need to understand why." Parents told the BBC the cost of living made raising children very Yordanov is 33 and has a son, but said the cost of living was making him reconsider having more said: "I love Jersey, but most likely if we have another child we are going to move because it's going to be unbearable."The cost of raising children here is one of the main reasons the birth rate is so low. There is absolutely no other reason and it's getting ridiculously expensive."In a couple, one of your salaries just covers nursery."Abdul Bassit, 43, has two children and said his biggest costs were clothing and food, which cost "more and more everyday". However, environmentalist Nigel Jones argued the declining birth rate locally was not said: "We all know that, worldwide, the biggest predictor of a lower birth rate is the level of education of the population. "The more educated young women are, the fewer children they are likely to have, and I don't see that as a problem at all."There are plenty of children being born all over the world - it's not like we have shortage worldwide. "We need to be less insular on this and we need to think, if work needs doing in the future, there will be people who can come to Jersey and do it."
