Tourgis ‘to be hotel by 2011’
Tuesday 18th May 2010, 2:29PM BST.
Development of Fort Tourgis could finally start before the end of the year if plans by Dutch firm Verweij en Partners are approved. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0545146)
ALDERNEY’S Fort Tourgis could become a £20m. hotel and conference centre within 18 months.
Dutch company Verweij en Partners finally applied for planning permission last week – just days before its two-year option agreement with the States of Alderney was due to end.
Provided the plans are approved in June, VP will pay £1m. for the fort’s freehold and look to begin renovation work before the end of the year.
VP’s Frans Verweij said: ‘Our aim is to have the hotel built by the end of 2011. We’d like a building time of one year. It may seem quick to local people but to us this is normal.’
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Beleive it when I see it !!. To finally apply 2 days before the deadline seems to be pretty lax for a “huge” company.
Alderney is struggling to get tourists here already even with Dereck Coates giving away airfares !!
Two words…………. WHITE ELEPHANT.
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Disagree it could be good if its up market.
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Would have been a good idea for the States to sell the fort for the same amount as money need for the leisure centre, then we could have 2 ugly under-used buildings ready at the same time!
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There isn’t the demand, surely it’s a waste of money to create a hotel? I hope all they do is renovate it, Alderney’s forts are really interesting to go around!
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I have to agree with Elizabeth. Why did they wait until the deadline? When do they intend to pay the million pound? Where are all the people going to come from to stay in this Hotel? I just cannot see this happening.
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- ‘We’d like a building time of one year. It may seem quick to local people but to us this is normal’ -I assume this might be a re-run of the New Connaught story……….
Assuming the redevelopment is sympathetic (ie along the lines proposed earlier) why the worry about someone else footing the bill for work that the States (ie us) cannot afford to do, and also paying for the opportunity? After all, it’s rapidly deteriorating as it is, so unless someone is willing to restore it, we will eventually lose it. Is it the thought that whoever spends money on it intends to make a profit from it?
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The Dutch are good at turning a profit and they will have done their homework on this one.
It’s quite an exciting project on an island that needs investment and job creation.
The States are not paying for this renovation so what do we have to loose?
I do hope the local builders get their act together and tender for the work this time.
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If Tourgis is a fully operational 4* Hotel by 31st December 2011 I will travel the island that evening and ring the bell in EVERY pub…..!
(For anyone unaware of the local tradition, if someone rings the bell in an Alderney Pub, they have to buy everyone in the pub a drink).
xxx
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Lee B
At least use your full name so that people can take you up on your generous offer then!
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Paul……
Not a chance….. Miracles sometimes happen and if one happens in this case I want to be able to flee the Island in safety……!!!!
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It will not be a miracle it will be down to superb planning. The Dutch are similar to the Germans in their approach to business. Highly organised & exceptionally efficient.
When they are ready to make a start they will come with everything needed, literally, & each stage will be achieved on time & within budget.
Some of the locals will learn a thing or two.
I am surprised ARE or the states have not seen any scope with this development. Accommodation will be in short supply in Alderney for quite some time when things start rolling with tidal power.
One million is a bargain. Such a shame nobody on the island saw any potential with the site.
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The total cost is £21 million. 1 for the site and 20 for the re-build. They do not have the 20 and are looking for investors. So there are many open questions – capacity, who will run the new hotel, how will the visitors get here, staffing, effect on existing local hotels, local builders and supplies, the real need to spend £400K on the airport terminal. etc.
Alderney States is glad to get shot of a fort which they have allowed to rot and depreciate so that it now worth so little – it is the site that has most value.
I hope it succeeds, but I suspect it will become a white elephant. But it should look better.
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I mean this with nothing but the greatest affection…
….I now have a mental image of well heeled tourists and business people arriving for their stay at this (probably) luxurious development, and having circled the airfield crammed into an Aurigny for an hour, whilst chickens/livestock are cleared off the runway and the fog clears/force 10′s stop for long enough for the pilot to land, being herded, crumpled, slightly sick, and with mouths agape, through the somewhat quirky and totally unique terminal building…
absolute quality.
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Scarlett – it’s all part of the charm. You can’t get that at Disney.
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And I hope the airport, or the service they provide doesn’t change, it’s very unique.
This hotel would have to be fairly cheap, because it’s not the rich visiting Alderney.
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@Doug – true, but large corporations don’t tend to hold their business conferences at Disney either.
Bring it on though – will be great to see some high flying executives dodging the chickens!
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Do I detect more than a faint whiff of Casino here? The Tourgis Casino? Real and virtual?
I advise Derek Coates to get some bigger airplanes and invest in some bigger bandwidth asap.
I predict that Sark will also have its first casino within 5 years. Better get your skates on Alderney States.
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