THE States Strategic Plan does not advocate opening up the rural area to inappropriate development, according to the Environment minister.
Deputy Peter Sirett said the current planning formula was a tried and tested one that should not be amended without careful consideration.
‘The Strategic Land Plan has been approved by the States and tested by a UK planning inspector,’ he said.
‘Nobody should worry that a go-kart track might suddenly appear in the middle of Torteval.’
The environment policy section of the SSP, which the States is being asked to note at the July meeting, highlights issues with the urban/rural area divide. It said the perception was that, rather than the people of Guernsey owning a thriving urban area as well as being able to enjoy the tranquillity of a rural area, there was an ‘us and them’ situation when it came to ownership.
This led to more calls for development in the rural area, relaxing pressures on the urban sector.
Deputy Sirett (pictured) said the environmental part of the SSP was not as ‘black and white’ as the economic and fiscal and social policy sections.
His department was merely the servant of the States and it had to perform a balancing act in trying to meet the aspirations of everybody who had an interest in Guernsey.
‘But we have to bear in mind that the environment is fragile and we have to look after what we’ve got,’ he said.
If the Policy Council’s Strategic Land Planning Group thought it made sense to put something in the rural area that had been previously allowed only in the urban, Deputy Sirett said it could be pursued via the normal channel of a public planning inquiry and a States decision.
He said the process was not a quick one, but nevertheless one that he supported.
‘To get something changed in a plan is a long and laborious matter which really is the way it should be,’ he said.
‘The last thing you want is for someone to be able to change a tried and tested system on a whim.’
The States Strategic Plan is the successor to the 2007 Government Business Plan.
It is aimed at interlinking strategic policy objectives with financial planning processes while prioritising the allocation of resources to meet the States’ aims.
The States will debate and have the opportunity to adopt or amend the SSP at the September meeting.
Article posted on 15th June, 2009 - 1.00pm
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