THE Guernsey Heritage Trust has claimed that irreparable damage has been done to the Markets. ‘The concern we have is that the old and fragile internal structure has been left open to the elements this winter and this has resulted in dry rot and possibly the ingress of water,’ said the trust’s chairman, Roger Dadd.

He added that this could put McAulay Developments in the position of having no choice but to demolish parts of the structure that otherwise could have been preserved.

‘We can’t understand why, as with almost every other development, the area subject to demolition was not covered with a framework of scaffolding and waterproof sheets.’

Given the decision of the States to appoint the developer and the present status of the buildings, the trust hopes that McAulay will be able to carry out the work in accordance with permissions that have been granted.

‘If that is not to be the case, then the problems for the States and non-governmental organisations like the National Trust of Guernsey, Heritage Trust and Town Centre Partnership will be very serious indeed,’ said Mr Dadd.

‘We do think it’s important the buildings are conserved and developed with the core purpose of retaining the Markets in St Peter Port with some ancillary use, whether that be retailing, office, residential or community. The scope for developing this building is very great.

‘Our concern now is that it [the redevelopment] may prove to be less than economically viable.’

This could be made worse by out-of-town shopping and the pending Leale’s Yard development.

‘The absence of adequate car parking in Town means that retailing has not been as buoyant as predicted.’

There are fears that McAulay may not get a sufficient return on leases and as yet there has not been any commitment from retailers.

‘The nightmare scenario is that, for one reason or another, the developer finds it impossible to continue and the States is left with a building that was the jewel in the crown of St Peter Port and needs to be returned to its former glory,’ said Mr Dadd.

That would require a lot of governmental and non-governmental effort, he said.

‘We hope the States and McAulay can see this through to a conclusion. If not, the consequences do not bear thinking about.’

McAulay has now submitted all its detailed plans to the Island Development Committee and is awaiting approval but it already has outline planning permission for the work, said Mr Dadd.

Andrew Dyke, chairman of the National Trust of Guernsey’s buildings committee, said that the project had become an exercise to demolish large parts and turn the rest into a shopping mall rather than Markets.

‘The building is in a parlous state and I don’t think many people have the confidence it will be completed to a satisfactory state,’ he said.

‘It does not give us confidence in preserving our built heritage – it’s important to our future generations.’

‘Buildings are an important reference point in our community and they must be properly looked after.’

McAulay director Brett Allen was unavailable for comment yesterday.