NEWS that one of the first actions of the new Environment board was to insist that roads around Les Nicolles schools be made one-way is a welcome sign that normality is returning to a department that, until the general election at least, was better known for the eccentricity of its decisions.

New minister Peter Sirett is clearly not afraid to take decisive action when necessary and that bodes well for the future and the reputation of his team.

The U-turn – no matter how necessary – will not be universally popular because it will be extremely inconvenient for those caught on the ‘wrong’ end of the no entry and for those living along roads that will become busier as a result.

Nevertheless, the previous Environment board was outrageously playing Russian roulette with children’s safety by pretending that lines painted on the road would protect them. Perhaps worse, the then members went against the professional advice of its staff in reaching what was, to judge from Tuesday’s U-turn, a perverse decision.

While Environment and its minister are to be congratulated for swiftly righting the wrong, the action highlights a particular area of concern in the way government operates.

Overturning the ‘no one-way’ decision was taken after a special meeting involving Environment, Education, Home and the emergency services. Unless they have all had some spontaneous synchronised change of heart, all excluding Environment were originally in favour of much more robust safety measures for the school children.

In turn, that means the old Environment Department was able to thwart the desires of the others and, indeed, common sense.

It is not the first time. Its decision to block the release of land for ‘Fred in a shed’ operations went against careful research it had been involved in with Commerce and Employment and was one of the reasons why an independent report into the island’s planning service was so critical.

That, too, is an area to which the new minister is turning his attention in an attempt to help businesses hampered by a shortage of land.

Nevertheless, the wider point remains: who resolves conflict between departments?