Sark hotels could start to reopen

Thursday 10 May 2018

A direct ferry link to Sark would mean the island's now long-closed hotels and restaurants could start to reopen, their manager has said.

The announcement came in the last April edition of the Sark Newspaper, as its editor, Kevin Delaney - who is also the CEO of Sark Estate Management - said if a direct route was started, he felt there would be enough business to begin reopening the businesses.

He said his plans were to first reopen the Aval du Creux hotel and the Time and Tide restaurant, with a "carefully managed repoening of all of the company's hospitality businesses" to follow.

Mr Delaney met with ferry operator Manche Iles last month in Guernsey to discuss a direct route from two ports on the continent as an alternative to the four hour route via Jersey - that sees around 2,000 French users each year. Manche Iles, he said, were keen to run the route.

"It is clear that there is a significant market on the west coast of France that Sark could access overnight if Manche Iles are given approval to land their passengers in Sark," he said.

"[but] From our discussions it was clear that very few French travellers are willing to endure the four-hour journey that it currently takes to travel to and from Sark via Jersey. I was interested to learn that only 2,000 of the 10,000 passengers who currently come to Sark on the Manche Iles services out of Jersey begin their journey in France.

"One has only to look at how [Manche Iles] have adapted their business model at very short notice to increase the number of sailings between Guernsey and Jersey and their recent introduction of a passenger service between Guernsey and Alderney to grasp that if we opened our harbours to them tomorrow, they would pull out 'all of the stops’ to get a direct service operating between the west coast of France and Sark as soon as is humanly possible. We, the people of Sark want this service and it is clear that Manche Iles are ready and willing to provide it."

Sark's Tourist industry and economy have been suffering for a number of years now, in a drawn out process which saw most of the island's hotels close down. 

The main barrier between direct travel between Sark and France is the lack of a customs post on the island. If there was such a place, ferry and ships would be able to arrive at the island from anywhere, but currently, they are forced to use Jersey or Guernsey customs post before they arrive on Sark. 

Chief Pleas has recently said it was looking at employing a customs officer as an alternative to a customs post - but nothing has been set in stone yet. Manche Iles said its plans did not require any money from Sark or its tax payers, but just permission for it to land its passengers at the harbour.

"With this in mind I am, in my capacity as CEO of Sark Estate Management, bringing the Aval du Creux hotel and Time and Tide restaurant in the Avenue out of their current mothballed state and preparing them to be opened in time to meet the first of the direct sailings between France and Sark," Mr Delaney said.

"I will follow this with a carefully managed re-opening of all of the company’s hospitality businesses in Sark. This will create much-needed employment, which will, in turn, increase the amount of money circulating in Sark’s economy and bring benefits to the island’s utility suppliers, builders, shops, restaurants and bars.