RARELY can a promise to do little beyond maintain the status quo have been so welcome as it is in today’s sale of Herm.

No helipads, no ‘keep out’ signs, no exclusive boutique hotel solely for the City elite. It is business as usual for the Mermaid Tavern, the campsites and the White House Hotel.

Which, in the circumstances, was the best islanders on both sides of the Little Russel could have hoped for.

Many reacted with horror when the Heyworth family announced their decision to quit the island after 28 years.

The national publicity that followed focused on the tax benefits of living on your own island and all but ignored any commitments to holidaymakers and day-trippers.

It was all too easy to envision a reclusive billionaire pulling a few million from his back pocket and setting about reducing the daily number of Herm ferries, fencing off large parts of the island from public access and closing the campsites.

That will not happen and islanders are assured that the jewel in the Bailiwick’s crown will remain on public view.

Much credit for that must go to the Heyworth family – for whom Herm was always much more than a place of work – and Treasury and Resources, which has striven to get the right tenant, not just the one waving the biggest wad of cash.

For this was like renting out your spare room: if you did not like the new tenants no amount of money could make up for the daily misery.

And, with just 40 years to go on the lease, it was unrealistic anyway to expect a management company to plough millions into revamping the island and its hotel. There simply wouldn’t be time to recoup the investment.

The hands-on style of the Heyworths will be replaced by a more managerial approach from John and Julia Singer, who will rely on staff taking greater responsibility for the smooth running of the island.

Beyond that, at least for the first couple of seasons, it is unlikely day-trippers, campers and hotel guests will notice much difference.

Which is just how we like it.