Sports village, gardens and casino among ideas for Fort

Sports village, gardens and casino among ideas for Fort

The plans for the historic site were revealed last week with the publication of the Island’s first Government Plan for the next four years.

The document includes plans for the government to invest in various areas of the public sector, such as education, health and infrastructure.

In the plan, the government unveiled its strategy to allocate £90.6 million in 2020 to capital projects – £2 million of which has been earmarked for expanding the capacity of the Fort as well as site maintenance and managing areas containing asbestos.

Earlier this year five high-capacity events were given weeks to find an alternative venue after fire-safety issues were uncovered, forcing the venue to cancel all major events for the foreseeable future.

And following a risk assessment the number of people using the Fort at any one time was capped at 1,170.

A government spokeswoman said that day-to-day operations would not be affected throughout the building works.

Assistant Infrastructure Minister Hugh Raymond, who heads the Fort Regent Steering Group, said that it was essential that the Fort be kept as a flagship events centre.

The latest ambitions themes and ideas for the Fort’s future were established at a workshop with the Fort Regent Steering Group.

Along with botanical gardens and the pool, the ideas in the plan include ‘large conferences, events, hotels, casino and leisure facilities’. A casino for the Fort has been suggested on a number of occasions in the past.

Deputy Raymond said: ‘The features listed in the plan are ideas at this stage, and we need to check whether they are viable.

‘I think the way in which the plan is presented could be a bit confusing, as they all need to be fully developed.’

These are not the first ambitious plans which have been put forward by the group. Previously, in 2014 they also presented an ambitious vision for the controversial site which included a 120-bedroom hotel, a restaurant and a glass-floored ‘skyway’ platform.

After much debate it was announced last month that the Fort Regent pool building is finally to be torn down at an additional cost of £2.69 million.

All suggestions made by the steering group are to be debated by States Members in November.

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