Douzaines unite to lobby for planning changes

Thursday 08 August 2019

A council of representatives from Guernsey's Parish Douzaines have taken a list of concerns to the President of Planning, in an attempt to outline the people's problem with the way the department is operating at the moment.

The Douzaine Council have found all parishes agree the Island Development Plan and Strategic Land Use Plan are both flawed, and have also criticised the States' lack of an infrastructure plan.

Mick Fooks, the Chairman of the Douzaine Council - which was set up to discuss issues which affected more than one douzaine - said the concerns they had put to DPA President Deputy Dawn Tindall were widespread, but he was also concerned their response so far had been frustrating. 

"At its last meeting the Douzaine Liaison Group, the forum made up of representatives of the 10 parishes and five States members elected by the States discussed the concerns of the parishes raised by the Council," Mr Fooks said. 

Deputy Dawn Tindall is the new President of the Development & Planning Authority. 

They put the following concerns to Deputy Tindall, who attended the meeting, and she promised to respond:

Mr Fooks frustration at the response he has now received was because Deputy Tindall tried to "mitigate the concerns" rather than "taking an independent view", he said. He felt she was defending the DPA's policies - a similar stance to that that the political members of planning have taken since the start of this term. 

The Guernsey Douzaine Council is made up of representatives from each of the parishes' douzaines, and is chaired by Mick Fooks from the Castel. 

The Council though believe their concerns were not just opinion, but genuine problems which needed addressing.

These planning criticisms have arisen since the new law was adopted by the States in November 2016 and individual parishes had actively been lobbying their deputies seeking changes since. 

For this reason the Council, Mr Fooks said, would continue to represent the island’s parishes and press for the changes that were needed because the Douzaines were well aware that any revision of planning procedures could only be acted upon by the States Assembly as a whole.

The political side of the D&PA work alongside the planning department of the civil service. 

“This response is frustrating as the points made are serious concerns shared by all 10 Parishes and were basically statements of fact gleaned from parishioner views, parish surgeries and Douzaine meetings,” Mr Fooks concluded. 

"My personal view is that Deputy Tindall has listened to the concerns expressed by the parishes and during the debate though. 

"There is arguably nobody more suited to move this forward than the current DPA president. The deputy will have a difficult task but I hope that States members, officers, douzaines and islanders provide what is likely to be a wide range of feedback on many of the points made during the requete debate."

Pictured top: Mick Fooks.