POLICY Council’s Strategic Land Planning Group says it is already tackling Guernsey’s ‘office space crisis’. Deputy Bill Bell, who chairs the cross-departmental group, said that members had been aware of concerns about the availability of office accommodation since the Institute of Directors’ Guernsey – To Let seminar in January.

Research subsequently carried out by the Environment Department on behalf of the group culminated in an action point being adopted in the Strategic Economic Plan that directs the group to oversee a review of the current supply and demand for modern office accommodation.

‘After the group’s last meeting on 9 August, I enlisted the assistance of Chamber of Commerce president Mark Trenchard to carry out a quick and simple survey of relevant local businesses,’ said Deputy Bell.

‘I am very grateful to Mark for offering Chamber’s help with this work which will help us all to get a clearer picture of the present demand.’

Deputy Bell hopes the results of the survey will be available for analysis by mid to late September, with Chamber acting as a coordinator with Giba, the CGi, the Institute of Directors and advocates, who are also in the questionnaire.

If the findings show strong justification for a policy change to create more opportunities for office development, the group might decide to recommend that Environment brings forward an early amendment to Urban Area Plan.

Deputy Bell was responding to claims made by estate agents in leading UK property magazine Estates Gazette that space in the island was becoming a rare commodity.

Some agents claimed the situation was reminiscent of the 1990s, when a shortage of modern offices forced companies to work in overcrowded conditions in old and unsuitable premises.

And with little room available to build more, there are concerns that the same problem now could destabilise the flourishing economy and the island’s prospects of coping with the zero-10 tax changes.

At present the only new commercial development under construction is the 60,000sq. ft office building at the former Royal Hotel site.

This is expected to be available at the end of 2008 or early in 2009.

Deputy Bell said the possibility of making interim amendments to the plan pending its comprehensive review was mentioned in the Environment Department’s States report in June when the life of the plan was extended up to the end of 2010.

He believes the planning group provides the States with a good ‘look-out’ system for spotting strategic issues and helping to resolve them in a positive and cooperative way.

‘Finding solutions isn’t always easy.

‘But I have always believed that the States should listen to people’s concerns as a first step towards understanding what needs to be done.’