Departments vacated the St Helier building earlier this year, with the majority of departments moving to a leased office in Broad Street costing taxpayers £1 million a year.
Chief Minister John Le Fondré, however, has repeatedly said the long-term plan is for the government to move to a single office – a move which it is argued would improve efficiency and be more customer-friendly.
In the States on Tuesday, the Senator suggested that progress on that project was being made.
‘I am expecting an update on finally achieving a consolidated office space soon,’ he told Members following a question from Deputy Mary Le Hegarat about the justification for moving from the States-owned Cyril Le Marquand House to Broad Street.
He added that the Regeneration Steering Group had made an ‘indicative’ suggestion on the ‘direction of travel’ regarding the future of Cyril Le Marquand House and that more details were expected soon, once the position had been clarified.
Previous suggestions for the future of the building include selling it off for housing or providing accommodation for key workers.
The Chief Minister’s comments in the States come days after Environment Minister John Young said a States-owned office should be created to stop the government ‘haemorrhaging’ taxpayers’ money on rented facilities.
The minister added that he believed the lack of an office strategy for the Island, which has been talked about for almost ten years, was the reason why millions of pounds in rent was being spent on various buildings annually.
During the previous States sitting, the minister did not rule out the possibility that the Waterfront could be a potential location for the new government HQ.
Senator Le Fondré previously advocated using the Waterfront for the new hospital and, as a backbencher, repeatedly raised concerns about the viability of the Jersey International Finance Centre in the area.
Last year he delayed Andium Homes’ development of Ann Court to enable him to consider alternative uses for the land, including using the site to build a new government headquarters.
However, his plans were thwarted after Deputy Steve Luce successfully persuaded the Assembly to release the funds for Andium to begin work.
