Latest news with #Channel Islands
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
States spend £100k so far on evicting Fermain Beach Cafe tenants
About £100,000 has been spent by Guernsey States on legal fees trying to evict the tenants of the Fermain Beach Cafe, it has been revealed.A Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request was submitted to the States asking Policy & Resources (P&R) to confirm the current legal fees to online petition was started and signed by more than 2,000 people in April 2024 to keep the current tenants in place and to stop any future development at the site after they lost the tender case remains ongoing and P&R said it expected "further costs" would be spent but hopefully "to a minimum". It added: "It is standard practice to engage external lawyers when there is not sufficient capacity within the Law Officers. "This ensures that matters are handled efficiently and without delay."In April 2024, the States said the lease tender process for the site had been fair and the tenant's proposals to carry out improvements to the site since 2009 had not been carried out. Having raised the issue with P&R, Deputy Mark Helyar said he would like to see the matter come to an end said: "I would just like to see a political intervention and a step-in for some negotiation and mediation so that it can be brought to a close. "We've got a new committee [since the general election], so a fresh pair of eyes, hopefully it might lead to a more satisfactory resolution."The States Property Unit reiterated that a formal tender process had been run for the site and the party that submitted the best bid would be selected.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Housing and grocery prices in Jersey are biggest concern
People in Jersey say the price of housing and groceries is causing them the most concern, a report has found. The Policy Centre Jersey said its cost of living report surveyed 1,000 residents in report found housing was the most important issue for 17 to 34-year-old age groups and it was significantly more important than for other age also found groceries were, on average, 14% more expensive than in the UK and Jersey lacked discount retailers which were more common in the UK. The report revealed 64% of islanders now identified the cost of living as the most important issue facing Jersey, rising to 82% among single parents. The report said: "The real issue is not just high prices, but people's ability to meet them."Real earnings have not increased since the beginning of the century - and have actually fallen by 3.3% since 2020."The average house price in Jersey was £569,000, the report said, which was on a par with London and 50% higher in the south-east of England."Those owning outright and those whose rents are fully met by income support are in better position than those who have bought recently or who are paying a market rent," the report groceries being more expensive on the island, the report found low-income households could pay up to 48% more than their UK counterparts. 'Not easy' The report has considered possible measures to help reduce the cost of living, including a renewed focus on increasing house supply, an exploration into ways to enable low-cost retail entry into the market and reviewing of regulatory barriers that raise consumer advisor of the policy centre Sir Mark Boleat added: "There is ample evidence on why the cost of living is higher in Jersey than the UK, but tackling the problem is not easy."The obvious sector where the cost of living can be reduced is housing, which requires policies that increase the supply of housing rather than frustrate it through the planning system. "A second sector is retailing, specifically by actions to encourage low-cost retailing."
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Guernsey airline Aurigny achieves 85% on-time flights in June
About 85% of Aurigny flights were on schedule in June, the States-owned airline has company said it had begun producing monthly updates to improve communication and build trust between itself and its passengers.A lack of pilots was the main reason for flight cancellations for the company, which it planned to combat with its new pilot development said it had hired seven new pilots to help support a "more reliable schedule", adding that attracting and retaining talent was a challenge, mainly due to Guernsey's cost of housing. The airline flew more than 53,000 travellers and completed 95% of all flights, with statistics including weather and air traffic control restrictions which were "beyond the airlines control".It said: "There were a number of cancellations caused by weather in June."The majority of the remaining cancellations were due to short-term pilot availability - the same issue that's also affecting other airlines across the industry. "With a lean pilot workforce, managing sickness presents particular challenges."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Visitors to Jersey 'dropped by 25% in May' compared to 2024
The number of people who visited Jersey in May dropped by more than 17,000, or 25%, compared to the same time in were 53,300 visits made in May, down from 70,600 in May 2024, according to Visit Jersey's latest Visitor Volume comes as the island experienced an overall 14% drop in visitors in the first five months of 2025 compared to the first five months of last Jersey, which is the island's tourism board and marketing body, said the overall fall was mainly due to 17,400 fewer sea visitors in the first five months of 2025. The data also revealed the number of nights that visitors spent on the island had fallen by 29,600, and were down 10% in the first five months of this the average length of stay increased to 4.3 nights in the same period, up from four nights in May, 93,700 passengers departed Jersey - a 15,100 decline, or 16% - compared to the same month in latest update follows similar trends highlighted by reports in April and March.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Businesses call for Channel Island collaboration, survey finds
There are calls for greater collaboration between Jersey and Guernsey businesses, a survey Institute of Directors (IoD) Jersey released findings from its second economic confidence survey following input from 70 findings suggest 56% of respondents were optimistic about their own organisations but only 17% were optimistic about Jersey's overall economy. Top priorities for growth in Jersey included infrastructure investment, attracting new industries and housing found both islands faced similar economic challenges following the findings of Guernsey IOD's own survey published at the end of June, and urged political leaders to work together. The Guernsey survey results suggested the island's business leaders had more confidence in the economy than six months before - but expectations for profits remained negative Ruddy, IoD Jersey Chair, said the survey provided a "clear mandate for action".She said: "While our members are confident in their own organisations, they are calling for bold, strategic investment and policy clarity to restore wider economic confidence. "Collaboration across the Channel Islands, support for innovation, and a focus on infrastructure and housing are essential to Jersey's future prosperity." 'Work together' Jersey respondents said they wanted to work with Guernsey for its fiscal deficit strategies by reducing public spending and driving economic results found entrepreneurship and innovation could be supported through tax incentives, youth talent attraction and skills also found AI adoption was in its early stages with 70% of companies offering training and 33% having a strategy in Hemans, IoD Guernsey's lead on economics, said collaboration should be sought after."There is clear recognition from the business community in both islands that - given the same challenges apply to both islands and our economic, geographical, demographic, constitutional and fiscal profile is so similar - the best way to confront our mutual challenges is to work together more closely."
