FOCUS: Leales Yard inaction "has stalled Bridge regeneration"

Friday 29 October 2021

Independent shop owners at the Bridge remain unconvinced that Leales Yard will be developed anytime soon, arguing that the Co-op’s hold on the land has stalled the redevelopment that the area "is crying out for".

The 12 acre-site has been left derelict for more than a decade, after the Co-op bought the site with intentions to redevelop not only the land but the Bridge itself into a more pedestrian-friendly public centre.

Express approached the Co-op for an update on the project in July this year but were rebuffed. When approached for a second time this week the Co-op again chose to “politiely decline” requests for comment.

The Co-op approached the States of Guernsey for a multi-million pound subsidy in 2019, to help get the development get up and running, but this never came to fruition.

Additionally, to combat Guernsey’s housing crisis and develop more than 100 GHA homes, the States has recently purchased Kenilworth Vinery, at Saltpans. 

Pictured: The original plans for Leale’s Yard included pedestrianising most of the seafront at the Bridge.

“Kenilworth is going to have a detrimental effect on house prices in Leales Yard if they were going to develop it, because I would imagine that Kenilworth would get completed first,” said the owner of Shoestring, Dave Perchard.

His sentiment was mirrored by Vale’s Senior Constable, Richard Leale, who came out immediately after the Kenilworth news, arguing that Leales Yard should be used first for housing. He did not comment further when approached this week by Express. 

"It's certainly good news for the 500 or so households on the waiting list for affordable housing," he said at the time. "But it is difficult with the information in the public domain at this stage to see how this makes sense from a strategic or planning perspective."

"Put simply, we see far more 'bang for the buck' in using public funds to kickstart the regeneration of the whole Bridge area as well as creating much-needed affordable homes right in the centre of the island's second retail centre.”

It appears the States have no intention of getting involved with the Co-op or supporting the redevelopment of Leales Yard – despite an appraisal of government involvement in its development part of the Government Work Plan, while it’s also clear the Co-op cannot develop the site on their own. 

The question is why?

“The problem with Leales Yard is that it would be astronomically expensive because of the fact that it’s all reclaimed land,” suggested owner of Hansens, Tony Hansen.

“Developing Leales Yard for habitation is going to be horrendously expensive.”

“I think that even though the powers that be want to move forward. The more they dig and dive into this, the more they realise how expensive this project is actually going to be and that it can’t be done by one company.”

Martin Search is a stalwart of Bridge trading and says the area is "crying out" for redevelopment of the area and the infrastructure that serves it. 

“The Co-op may have wanted the States of Guernsey to put money into Leales Yard,” said the owner of Ray & Scott.

“They clearly don’t want to and we haven’t got the money to put into Leales Yard. It’s why I think the Co-op should sell to someone who can develop Leales Yard, because they’re not developers.”

Pictured: Mr Search has been operating his business from the Bridge for 42 years. 

“I’m 73 years old now and I don’t think anything is going to happen down there while I’m still a retailer,” said Mr Perchard of Shoestring.

“So I can’t get as excited as I could at one time. I’m a bit pessimistic now I’m afraid.”

The ramifications of sitting on a project as large and wide ranging as Leales Yard have been that little has been done at the Bridge for decades.

“I think it has put a big stall on everything, from lighting to road design,” said Mr Search. “It’s a great shame because the Bridge is a thriving retail area.”

“There are a lot of vacant shops on the Bridge, and one needs to ask the question why they are vacant,” continued Mr Hansen. “All of them are owned by the Co-op and the Co-op are not entertaining long term leases.”

Mr Perchard said the delay has forced a lot of business away from the Bridge “because the Co-op have spent such a long time trying to get this thing off the ground.”

He cited both Alliance and M&S building large supermarkets outside of the immediate Bridge area.

Despite this, not everyone thinks the Bridge needs rejuvenating.

“The Bridge is already a very busy place,” said Daphne Brouard from the Candy Shop.

“It is a highly successful shopping area because people - especially those with poor mobility - can park easily outside of the shops and get their essentials.

"I am not particularly bothered whether Leale's Yard is developed or not, but what I would not want to see is any more loss of parking spaces outside our shops. There are a lot of takeaway type businesses that are totally reliant on that.”

Pictured: “I want it to be developed because I’ve seen it [the Bridge] deteriorate so much over the years, I’ve been here now for more than 25 years and when I had my first rent review, even then there was talk of them having a supermarket on Leales Yard,” said Mr Perchard.

However, Mr Search concluded by telling Express that the Bridge is “crying out for redevelopment.”

“Nothing has happened for many, many years and it’s purely because of Leales Yard, because they need to know where they’re going with it,” he said.

“I’d love to see it come to fruition in my lifetime and it would be fantastic to leave on a high with development starting for the good of the Bridge.”

We get further into the story during our latest podcast, which you can listen to ONLINE.