Deputy Steve Luce says that he was impressed by the work done by Save Jersey’s Heritage, who the newspaper worked in partnership with, and has revealed that he is prepared to regulate the siting and design of signs, bins, street furniture and other clutter if necessary.
‘The public realm is made up of our parks and green areas, our pavements and footpaths, our squares and open spaces, our roads, streets and lanes,’ the minister said today in an open letter to public services and utility providers.
‘The public realm is the conduit which links together our places of work, the places we live, and the places we visit and where we spend our leisure time.
‘Everyone on our Island uses the public realm every day. The quality of the public realm influences what we think and what we feel about a place. We are all uplifted by good places, and good design. Conversely, however, we are also negatively affected when our public spaces are not treated properly, are cluttered, or are not designed appropriately.’
He adds: ‘We have, and continue to have, far too many incidents of poorly designed signs, poor lighting, inappropriately located street furniture and inconsiderate clutter.
‘This has once again recently come to the fore with the erection of a security fence around Gibraltar Rock at St Catherine’s, and the installation of a power point into our newly created piece of public realm at Charing Cross. These two incidents, amongst others, have highlighted to me that we can, indeed we must, do very much better.’
In the letter, the minister calls on utility providers and Public Services to treat the public realm as if it was their own garden or home.
‘I am looking at removing permitted development rights which currently enable our providers of public services and utilities to erect signs, fences, lighting and other street furniture, without planning permission.
‘This is a big step. It will create more planning applications, and it will mean changes to current utility practice. However, before I go further with this, I want a formal conversation with our public service and utility providers about their role and responsibility concerning Jersey’s public realm.’
Deputy Luce said that he would prefer to move forward by consensus than regulation and that the proposed Infrastructure Levy would provide cash to invest in improving public spaces.
A conference for interested parties is due to be held in January to take matters forward.
‘It is vital that we make changes and progress on this matter as the quality of the public realm affects us all,’ the letter said.
Christopher Scholefield, of Save Jersey’s Heritage, said: ‘We read the minister’s open letter with growing enthusiasm. It is both candid and constructive.
‘Deputy Luce has recognised there is a problem, canvassed the views of his colleagues in the States (especially Deputy Carolyn Labey, who he mentions by name) and stated not only his determination to make Jersey raise its standards but also his plans for ensuring this happens. The public realm review conference planned for next month should be a particularly interesting occasion.
‘It would seem the SJH-JEP campaign has touched a nerve, and rightly so. We all stand to gain from what is planned: an island we can be proud to call home and to share with our visitors, who will surely appreciate the results of the efforts Deputy Luce has called for.
‘This is a good news story with a difference. Not only will what is planned impact upon each and every one of us every day but also it will be a reminder that in Jersey political activism is not pointless, a sound argument can attract attention and improvements can be made.’
