PAID parking was one of the hottest topics at last night’s hustings for St Martin’s and St Andrew’s. In response to a question asked by Bob Hayes of St Martin’s, many of the 13 South-east candidates felt it was inevitable that paid parking will eventually be introduced as part of an integrated traffic strategy.

Deputy Mike Torode drew one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night when he suggested the Town Markets should have been given over to a multi-storey car park with modest charges.

‘We need additional revenue. That is something we are going to have major problems with. If we ever get the Markets back I would keep the two ends and put in two or three levels of parking. People would be prepared to pay for convenient, close to the centre of town parking as long as it was not exorbitant.’

Charles Parkinson said paid parking was a less painful way of raising revenue than some others and said unless the States does introduce paid parking, private investors will be reluctant to commit to it when it was provided free by the States.

Deputy Janine Le Sauvage felt Tudor House would have been a better location for multi-storey car park. She disagreed with paid parking on the grounds it was unfair but supported the idea for private spaces.

Robert Gregson said long-term parking should be paid for.

Hugh Bougourd agreed that charges should be modest. Deputy Francis Quin said the North Beach was too valuable a piece of property to continue to allow giving away free every day. David Gorvel said limited paid parking could help Town.

Deputy Bill Bell disagreed with charging, saying it was unfair on the less well off. Aiden Matthews said more carrot and less stick was necessary to get people out of their cars.

John McQuaigue said it was a form of stealth tax and accused pedestrian safety group Steps and the Guernsey Bicycle Group of pushing society back by lobbying for subsidisation of the buses. Douzaine representative Mike O’Hara said Cardiff had solved its parking problems by other means like park and ride.

Douzaine representative John Cleal suggested the States should revisit the idea of a multi-storey car park at Frossard House, where the user pays, and leave the existing car parks free of charge to give commuters more choice.

Cynthia Cormack said many people already pay to park and said it was sad, but inevitable, that it would be introduced.

Talmai Morgan, the newly-appointed chief executive of the Guernsey Promotional Agency, invited candidates to give their views on the future development of the finance sector and whether they felt there was a viable alternative to diversifying the island’s economy.

Mr Cleal felt that an opportunity to diversify in the horticulture industry could have been lost with Healthy Direct’s unsuccessful bid to set up a herb processing unit.

‘I hope they reconsider their situation and carry out their development near the airport and that in years to come there will be an alternative to the finance industry,’ he said.

Deputy Quin said the best man to answer the question was Mr Morgan himself.

Mr Matthews said it was vital to maintain the finance industry’s presence but acknowledged the difficulties of remaining competitive with other jurisdictions.

Deputy Torode, Mr Matthews, Mrs Cormack and Mr Gregson supported diversifying into areas like IT but acknowledged the contribution made by the finance industry in the island’s wealth.

‘Hedge funds are doing very well and we should follow similar policies and hedge our bets by trying to diversify,’ said Mr Gregson.

He, like Deputy Le Sauvage, and Mr Bougourd, supported developing health tourism as another arm to the economy.

Deputy Bell said much had already done to ensure the stability of the finance industry and added that it was vital to continue providing support and encouragement.

Mr O’Hara suggested that the Policy Council should look at investing ‘serious money’ in other industries to strengthen the economy.

Mr Gorvel said more support should be given to farmers and growers while Mr McQuaigue said the bulk-mailing sector could be a viable alternative.

Mr Parkinson said there was a symbiotic relationship between the industries and that good communication and stable infrastructure were essential for both. He said the new airport terminal would benefit tourism and finance and suggested that the airport runway might eventually have to be extended to keep Guernsey competitive in those markets.

Euthanasia was raised, with most candidates expressing regret that the subject had become an election issue. Education, a public smoking ban and greater flexibility in the Rural Area Plan were among other issues raised during the well-attended meeting.

Some 450 islanders attended the hustings, some were forced to stand outside in the playground of St Martin’s Primary School to hear the 13 election hopefuls vie for six seats in Wednesday’s general election.