The Official Parish of St Helier Magazine
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TOWN CRIER THE OFFICIAL PARISH OF ST HELIER MAGAZINE August 2021 In partnership with the TOWN CRIER THE OFFICIAL PARISH OF ST HELIER MAGAZINE TOWN CRIER THE OFFICIAL PARISH OF ST HELIER MAGAZINE The President of Madeira at the Portuguese Food Fair in 2019 WELCOME TO THE AUGUST ISSUE OF THE TOWN CRIER... Despite several challenges The loss of these events is - notably the continuing damaging for two reasons: first, pandemic, the effects of Brexit, hundreds of tourists will not be staff shortages and supply spending time (and money) in chain interruptions - St Helier our shops, restaurants, cafés, and TOWN CRIERis definitely getting back on its other businesses (the Motoring feet as the summer holidays Festival alone involved 200+ THE OFFICIAL PARISH OF ST HELIERcontinue. MA There continueGAZINE to be participants and families who new openings in the retail and had booked to come to Jersey hospitality sectors, and a steady for this year’s event, the majority stream of enquiries to the Parish taking a week to 10 days over about possibilities for business the festival period as annual start-ups or expansion. Al fresco holidays). Second, the festivals dining is particularly popular as provide great entertainment for people wishing to socialise in St St Helier parishioners and add to Helier often prefer to sit outside, the pleasure of living in or near and our public parks and squares to town. Nevertheless, the Parish are busy. Parish staff are working is doing all it can to facilitate and hard to keep the town and the encourage smaller events during Parish clean, while their efforts the coming month, including to beautify the streets have been our weekly historic walks and recognised in an award in the the various 'pop-ups’ which RJA&HS garden competition. help to animate our streets and contribute the sense of well-being Unfortunately, the Parish is having and optimism about the future. to forego the pleasure of hosting a number of major festivals for For advice and information the second summer in a row about all the services the due to ongoing concerns about Parish provides, or to get more Covid 19: the Battle of Flowers, involved in Parish life, please go the Portuguese Food Festival to the Parish website, sthelier.je, BEST FLORAL PARISH HALL and the International Festival of email [email protected] or The Town Hall has been judged the best by Ransoms Garden Centre. With 87.5 Motoring have all been cancelled. telephone 811811 of the Island’s parish halls in Class 21 of the points, the Town Hall also received the A&L RJA&HS gardening competition sponsored Ahier shield. TOWN HALL: PO Box 50, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 8PA Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday Phone: 01534 811811 Email: [email protected] www.sthelier.je 02 | | AUGUST 2021 CONSTABLE’S PARISH NEWS COMMENT ST HELIER TAKES GOLD St Helier took part in the annual than once a year, as this is seen as a Honorary Police clay pigeon shoot worthwhile social activity for the Parish. last month, coming first among the Eagle-eyed observers may be able GRAND DESIGNS Hon. Police forces of the Island. There to make out the clay pigeon in the are plans for the medalled officers photograph being pursued by the group - OR GRANDIOSE? to practice together more frequently of pellets! Parishioners have been asked in least for town residents to benefit recent months to comment on a from the untapped potential of its number of major projects that if amenity space and gardens, and implemented will have far-reaching I think a National Gallery on the impact on our town: the Fort Regent Waterfront would be of lasting proposals, the South West St Helier benefit to St Helier and to the Island; Masterplan, a new Government HQ, you only have to look at the benefits various housing projects, and, of that the Tate Gallery in St Ives has course, the new hospital at Overdale. brought to Cornwall. In some ways we should be pleased that the Government and arm's However, what this and previous length agencies are planning on Councils of Ministers are missing in spending millions of pounds on the their pursuit of grandiose projects, infrastructure of our Parish, and why is the desperate need the rest of St wouldn't a parish constable Helier has for urban regeneration and welcome such investment in new renewal on a much smaller, human facilities? After all, St Helier is the scale. The last major push to improve best location for new housing the streets on which most of us live developments, with work and was the Environmental Protection and school on residents' doorsteps, Improvement Areas (EPIAs) of the while the thousands of new St Helier mid-1990s. These schemes reduced parishioners will contribute in all sorts ‘rat-running’ through the residential of ways to the community that is St streets of the North of Town and Helier. And shouldn't we be delighted provided pavement improvements, at the prospect of the new leisure, tree planters and traffic calming, but sports and entertainment facilities at these facilities are at least 25 years Centenier David Curtis coaches Elvis Vieira the Fort and on the waterfront, with its old and need renewing, while other new public squares and open spaces? town streets have never benefited My views on the new hospital project from such improvement. There needs to be a reliable source of Government should be well-known by now: I a proposal put forward by one of the funding for regeneration schemes, support the Overdale development OUR HOSPITAL members regarding the proposed but not the collateral damage the especially in the light of promises hospital access road. present scheme involves, especially made at the time of the Esplanade PROJECT: the loss of people's homes and the Quarter Masterplan ten years ago that The Roads Committee decided that it environmental and heritage impacts envisaged tens of millions of pounds wanted to formally request some further of carving a new road around People's being invested in urban renewal as ROADS information from you and your team Park and up Westmount. At the time surpluses became available. As the regarding the proposed hospital access of writing the Government is no closer town continues to grow with the COMMITTEE road and its impact on the surrounding to finding an alternative site for the number of new homes running into area. Specifically, the Committee has Jersey Bowling Club. Securing better the thousands, it is vital that urban SEEKS MORE asked for: visitor access to Fort Regent from renewal projects are developed • More detail about how traffic in the Snow Hill would certainly be good for and implemented, otherwise we, as INFORMATION area of the proposed hospital will be this part of St Helier, while the Fort St Helier residents, may reject the managed. Including any proposed itself offers lots of opportunities, not designs the Government has upon us. The Parish of St Helier’s Roads one-way routes, turning prohibitions Committee decided last month, at the or other traffic management measures request of Ted Vibert, to write to the being considered. Deputy Chief Minister, Senator Lyndon • A detailed 3D model of the Farnham, who has political responsibility Westmount area, showing the for the new hospital project at Overdale, proposed new road and surroundings. to request more information about the PARISH MATTERS potential traffic impacts of the hospital. I expect these pieces of work are already part of the project and would appreciate The full text reads as follows: your confirmation that these requests ‘Proposed Hospital Access Road will be met, together with a timescale. I am, of course, happy to arrange for a The Parish Roads Committee met earlier suitable time for the hospital team to today as part of its normal schedule of meet with the Roads Committee, once public meetings. At the meeting, the the Committee has received and had a Committee considered and discussed chance to digest this information.’ ST HELIER HISTORIC TOWN WALKS St Helier’s free and very popular with fewer numbers at the moment, and historic walks restarted on 1st July, continue on the following dates: in collaboration with the Jersey Tour 26th August Kevin Kerrigan Guides Association. The aim remains Western to Eastern and all Points to encourage a greater knowledge of Inbetween – the Pubs of St Helier the Parish’s rich history for the benefit 9th September Pete Webb of parishioners, as well as supporting St Helier Takes to the Air Jersey’s tourism industry and assisting the town’s retail and hospitality sectors. 16th September Ian Ronayne The walks are very popular, although St Helier’s Great War Jersey Bowling Club members in action AUGUST 2021 | | 03 RETURN OF THE BAND MINDEN DAY Last month the Band of the Island of Jersey was pleased concert finished with a moving rendition of the Evening to be able to resume its programme of town marches. Hymn followed by the national anthem. Thanks go to the RECALLED The first event was a march from the Town Hall to the Island Band for helping to restore the vibrancy of Each year the Battle of Minden (1759) is remembered Royal Square, where there was a display by the Drum the town centre, and to the St Helier Honorary Police for at a ceremony in Minden Place, and a wreath placed Corps. The Constable of St Helier took the salute, and the their assistance. beside the plaque commemorating the Battle, which saw British forces and their German allies in a successful rout of a superior French army.