This Is Guernsey

By Phil Falle

Flowers at La Corderie in full bloom. (Picture by Caroline Langford)

PLANS for a helicopter landing pad near the clifftop on Sark’s north-west coast have been published and a series of public site visits arranged.

Visits to the area, which is on the edge of La Moinerie tenement, will take place on the next three Saturdays, starting from La Moinerie Hotel at 10am.

Details of the plans and the site visits are contained in a newsletter published by Sark Estate Management’s Kevin Delaney. What particularly interested me about the announcement was that it referred specifically to an application being made to the Development Control Committee for an ‘all-weather helicopter landing pad for dealing with medical emergencies’.

That, according to Mr Delaney, otherwise known as the Barclay family’s man in Sark, is what the application is for. If looked at logically, that is what the committee is being asked to approve. I happen to think that it’s an important point because I’ve lost count of the number of times I have been told that ‘they’ (the usual euphemism for the Barclay family) want the helicopter pad for themselves and their guests to use.

If the application relates to ‘dealing with medical emergencies’ and the committee’s consent – if given – uses the same restrictive phraseology then surely to goodness that’s all it can be used for.

The other interesting aspect of the announcement is the choice of location – done, according to Mr Delaney, because it is the least obtrusive landing site and one which has its approaches over the sea, with no overflying of the island.

The other argument I’ve heard against this particular application is that helicopter landings are usually on the Millennium Field and there should be no reason to change this. It is a fact that helicopters bringing distinguished visitors to Sark usually do land there.Yet the helicopter to which this DCC application refers is owned by the Barclay family.

I can see nothing wrong with them wanting a properly constructed site on their property upon which to land their helicopter.

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Following on from my recent comments about the new faces seen in Sark every time I stray more than a hundred yards from my home, I was interested to see a section of the Sark Estate Management newsletter devoted to job opportunities and setting out employment policies.

Saying that they are unable to accept further applications for employment from non-Sark residents – other than for the usual short-term seasonal work in hotels and restaurants, SEM adds that its employment policy is to offer work and training to the people of Sark.

‘Our programme of projects is tailored to work only with the skills and labour that the resident local community have to offer,’ it says.

I express concern about the effect on the infrastructure of a couple of dozen new faces because, although an increase in economic activity does bring benefits, the current tax structure means that this is not directly reflected in the island’s finances.

In other words, because the tax structure is not income related, any increase in taxation will not be restricted to those whose incomes have increased because of all this economic activity but will apply – as it does now – across the board.

That, perhaps, might be something the Finance Committee would like to consider when next examining how Sark will raise enough cash to pay for the services Chief Pleas provides for the population.

The first of the ‘new’ shops on The Avenue has opened. Using about half the space of what was the ‘old’ bike shop, French Liaisons is a delicatessen run by Paul and Claire Marriette, with Wendy Roberts already employed as assistant manager.

It opened last Saturday and offers a substantial range of products brought directly to the island from France. Indeed, anyone familiar with shopping in France will recognise many of the brand names and Paul and Claire also intend to sell local meat and offer a wholesale service to existing Sark businesses.

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Floral Sark gets under way at the weekend and, with an early Easter approaching, it’s no surprise that it’s a community litter clearance. It kicks off at 2pm at the Collennette and ends a couple of hours later with a warm drink and biscuits at Stumbles Restaurant.Before I close, I’m sure that many Sark residents will join me in thanking the recently taken-over Sarnia Car Hire for the service they’ve given us over many years. I have always found them to be an efficient organisation and those who have taken over will find it a difficult act to follow.The email address for comment is fallesark@sark.net.