The Town Crier December2010 NOW DELIVERED TO ST HELIER Your parish online www.sthelier.je RESIDENTS EVERY MONTH Get your skates on The return of the ice rink in Parade Gardens promises to make this a special St Helier Christmas inthisissue For a number of years, the magic of ice skating 6 Plans for Town Park roads 8 Parish matters has helped make the festive season special for St 13 Parish people Helier and the Island as a whole. 15 My day in St Helier 16 Christmas in St Helier So it great news that the ice rink is returning to 23 Jersey Finance Parade Gardens once more. No excuses now - get 27 Gardening column your skates on and head to St Helier for a 28 Fitness feature 31 St Helier Gazette sparkling Christmas. Page2 Page3 Welcome to the Town Crier STOP PRESS As a busy year draws towards its Domestic glass close, it’s our pleasure to bring to you the final Town Crier of 2010. It’s collections to return been quite a year for your Parish Monthly collections of household glass were magazine. After a trial launch at the replaced with communal glass bins several end of 2009, by April we were years ago in an effort to cut costs and to producing a monthly magazine that was being delivered to all homes and comply with Health & Safety requirements. businesses in St Helier. That’s more The Parish is now hoping to bring back than 19,000 addresses – collections of household glass next year. meaning more than 170,000 Communal glass bins do not suit everyone, copies in total! according to the Constable, and the Municipal Being the December edition, Services Department is looking at a way of it’s only right that we put a collecting glass in a way that is safer than the special focus this month on Christmas in St Helier. In the previous method. A full report on this and the centre pages you will find a new parish-wide recycling collections will specially expanded ‘Dates appear in the next issue of the Town Crier. For Your Diary’ section with f information on Christmas events and activities. Hopefully, it will help young and old alike enjoy the festive season in the Parish. We also hear from a rather special character in our Parish People feature – someone who only appears in St Helier at this Squirrels say thanks! time of year. Turn to page 13 to find out who this is. On the front of last month’s Town Crier we We also include the usual range of regular and special features. Look out featured the installation of a squirrel rope for more information on our cover story on page 6 and a Day in the Life of bridge so these furry parish inhabitants could retiring Coop boss Jim Hopley on page 15. Elsewher e, you will find Historic cross safely from Westmount to the Lower Park. St Helier appropriately looking into the past of the new Liber ty Wharf Although we have not observed them using it shopping centre and a welcome return for our gardening feature, Grow, on (let us know if you have), we are sure the page 27. All this and the usual r ound up of news, features and information. squirrels – and their supporters - would like to We hope to include something of interest to all St Helier’s parishioners. Let say a special thanks to the organisations and us know what you think about the Town Crier, and what you would like to see more, or less, of. So if you have a story to tell, or something to say, get individuals who helping in getting this in touch – we look forward to hearing from you. important road crossing set-up. They include To contact the editorial team, please call 811811 or email Jersey Telecom who kindly provided the poles [email protected] f on either side and their contractor Frontline who dug out the footings and erected the poles. Stop Press: Surville public art Thanks also to Fetch and Carry who generously provided the competition remains open hoist and those In a recent edition of the members of Town Crier we featured the Parish plans to extend Mont à workforce and l’Abbé’s Surville Cemetery. Honorary Police One of the elements in the who helped design is a fitting piece of carry out the public art to form a central installation. A great job all round! f feature of the new area. While preparation continues toward finalising the plans and starting the work, there remains an opportunity for local sculptors and artists to submit ideas for an appropriate design for this piece of art. Further information is available from Tony Andrews, Director of Parks, Gardens and The Town Crier is printed Cemeteries, on 811700 or email [email protected]. f on FSC Certified Paper Page4 The Town Crier A watching brief The last edition of the Town Crier included details of the St Helier Roads Committee’s 100th public meeting. This month we explain a little more about this important Parish institution and the people who give their time to keep it operating. In Jersey, Roads Committees (Comité des Chemins) are the highway authority for Parish roads in each Parish. In accordance with the law, they oversee the maintenance of f Parish by-roads, establish boundary stones, issue alfresco licenses, examine planning applications, supervise refuse collection, carry out the bi-annual Visite du Branchage and propose new road names as required. As you can see, it’s a busy job! In St Helier, the Roads Committee is headed by the Constable and Above: The elected members of the current St Helier Roads Committee includes five elected members who serve in an honorary capacity for a following their swearing-in by the Royal Court on 9th January 2009 three year term. The Rector together with the two Procureurs du Bien Left to right: Iain MacFirbhisigh, Nigel Blake, Peter Pearce, John Wilding and (both as non-voting members) also attend. Geraint Jennings If you have any questions or concerns to raise with the Roads Committee, the contact details of its members are shown right. f Simon Crowcroft (Chair) 811821 [email protected] Nigel Blake 875339 [email protected]; Geraint Jennings 280778 [email protected]; Forward planning – and planting The Very Rev. Bob Key 720001 [email protected]; First Tower’s Le Route Es Nouaux was a hive of activity recently Iain MacFirbhisigh 725963 [email protected]; as members of the St Helier Community in Bloom Group Peter Pearce 722536 [email protected]; joined local school children in a mass bulb planting. John Wilding 872920 [email protected] As any good gardener will tell you, the best displays come from forward planning and plenty of hard work. And forward planning was certainly in evidence along Le Route es Nouaux in November as children from nearby First Tower School joined the St Helier Community in Bloom Group in planting thousands of daffodil bulbs along the roadside verges. The idea came about following another joint project in St Andrew’s Park between the Bloom Group and the school. Headmistress Di Hooper was LIMITED looking for a solution to minimise the problems caused by cars parking on the roadside verges near the school. The suggested answer was to fill these •Large Construction Projects open spaces with flowers, and so the hard work began. Firstly, the children, together with the First Tower Community Association, •Minor works raised money to buy the bulbs. The Parish agreed to help by donating the •General Refurbishment and Fit-outs first sack full. With the money collected, and the bulbs purchased, the work of planting began at the star t of November and continued through the month. The daffodils, which are expected to bloom early next spring, are of mixed varieties to ensure the best display possible. Look out for the results in the New Year. Below: Children from First Tower school proudly taking part in the bulb planting f Contact: Deerglen (01534) 768590 e-mail [email protected] December2010 Page5 Town Park: plans to improve surrounding roads announced With work on the Millennium Town Park due to start at the end of this year, focus has turned to the roads surrounding the site in an effort to ensure easy and safe access. Detailed proposals have been set out in a special consultation document distributed around the neighbourhood of the Park, and now available for download from the Parish website (www.sthelier.je). Feedback is welcome – contact Technical and Environmental Services at the Town Hall on 811811 or e-mail [email protected]. While the Town Park itself will bring a much needed r esource for the whole community, work to improve the surrounding streets will contribute significantly to its quality and setting. Left: The proposed road changes By reducing traffic flows and speeds, the result will be safer, Top: Under the proposals, this part of Oxford quieter and cleaner streets for residents and visitors to enjoy. Road would disappear The current plans include: Above: Tunnel Street would become closed to Bath Street - a raised road table with new paving to reduce through traffic with access to premises only traffic speeds and a new crossing created in front of the park entrance. Traffic eastbound between David Place and Apsley Road and ‘one-way’ westbound will remain two-way as present. between Chevalier Road and Apsley Road. Oxford Road will become ‘one-way’ Robin Place/Tunnel Street – Robin Place and part of Tunnel Street adjacent eastbound between Common Lane and Oxford Road (north).