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A route to fund the Les Ozouets post-16 campus could finally be agreed this week, thanks to revised forecasts on how much the States will take from global corporate tax reforms.
The island’s top two politicians – Deputy Lyndon Trott and Heidi Soulsby – have worked with Education to come up with a compromise amendment for debate this week, presenting two funding options so spades can get in the ground at the site this year.
States members will be asked to phase the £100m+ project, focusing first on the Guernsey Institute element to move those studies out of the Coutanchez and Delancey sites as soon as possible.
The P&R President and Vice-President say the new plan will be sustainably paid for through a combination of already authorised borrowing of up to £55m, up to £33m from reserves and cash raised through the sale of the Coutanchez site for housing.
Associated sports facilities and the standalone sixth form centre would be put on the back burner until at least 2025, but deputies will have an option to lay the foundations for the sixth form for an additional upfront cost of £1m.
They also want the States to approve the preparation of Coutanchez campus for development “through sale or joint venture”, with a focus on bang for buck and affordable housing.
The pair said they are confident the rest of the States will be behind them when it’s considered from tomorrow.
Education President Deputy Dudley-Owen has welcomed the move, praising the “strategic view” being taken which “sends a clear message of intent and support to staff in both the Secondary and Post 16 phases of education”.
Pictured: Les Ozouets has been without funding for several months.
The Les Ozouets campus – part of the wider Transforming Education Programme – has been in limbo for several weeks after States members twice failed to agree the funding for it in the face of failure to simultaneously agree new revenue streams for the public purse.
The amendment would bring the initial cost this term down from £111m to £87m - but increasing the total capital project cost list for this political term to £427m.
It’s hoped this new approach, which has the backing of a majority of Education, Sport & Culture members, will mean new life is breathed into the plan while also delivering other prioritised projects, such as the hospital modernisation.
Deputy Trott said he was confident that the borrowing can now be repaid thanks to a significant uplift in the expected tax take from corporates starting in 2026. Treasury initially forecasted the OECD Pillar Two rules would raise £10m per year, but more detailed analysis has seen this be increased to £30m.
These charges will start to be collected from 2026.
“That's a game changer,” Deputy Trott said. “And these predictions are conservative as well.We think the numbers may be even higher than we're saying in this amendment. But that gives us a great deal of flexibility around affordability."
The millions taken from the general revenue reserve would also be able to be paid back before the turn of the decade and has been made possible due to better-than-expected economic performance since covid, he said.
Pictured: Deputy Dudley-Owen is backing the amendment to get the project off the ground.
“Whatever misgivings States members may have when it comes to borrowing - that debt can be serviced through what we're doing. And it's a way forward. We're taking the Institute forward... States members were unhappy with how things were left last year,” Deputy Soulsby said.
But the pair did accept that the options offered to deputies could reignite debate over slimming down or cancelling parts of the project, particularly the sixth form centre which has proved politically controversial and has been subjected to repeated debates over its viability.
Deputy Soulsby said P&R is focused solely on the funding: “It's not about whatever the right model is or isn't - what we're doing is trying to bring in a phased approach. So, dealing with the Institute now, potentially looking at foundations for the sixth form centre. But then phase two, looking at sports facilities and the sixth form."
Deputy Trott acknowledged that the options would give deputies the opportunity to express a view on the sixth form part of the plans.
Pictured: The Coutanchez campus is zoned for future housing development in the Island Development Plan.
A by-product of pushing forward with Les Ozouets is freeing up other States land for other strategic purposes.
Deputy Trott said it would represent a “win-win” and help to make good on his promises to unblock hurdles in public and private housing development.
“The Coutanchez site is arguably the most convenient site for housing development in the States’ portfolio. And we're confident that the development of that site could be fast tracked because of that.
“For instance, it already has a development brief in place and that's really, really important because whilst clearly education is essential for the future prosperity of this island, and a well-trained workforce is absolutely essential, there is no doubt that we do genuinely have a housing crisis.”
P&R estimates the site is worth around £3.5m, and a “joint venture” for its future could include public-private housing delivery like what’s being done now at Oberlands for health staff.
But Deputy Soulsby said they are keeping the options open: “We're not trying to put us down any particular road. What we're saying is if we can actually move the Institute and get it get a new purpose-built building in place, then we can move forward on housing. That decision is for another day."
When asked if the States is any closer to appointing a builder for the project after RG Falla went bust, Deputy Trott said it’s a question for ESC but that “all of the signs in that regard look positive”.
The States will consider the amendment this week from Wednesday.
Pictured (top): Deputies Lyndon Trott and Heidi Soulsby.
“The facts don’t support the assertions the detractors are making”
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