“I believe he also has a social conscious and as such is ideally placed to be the
Planning & Environment Minister. ”
In my view, Deputy Rob
poisoned challis of Planning, with it’s incorporated roll of Environment, has to consider not only the conflicting views of the populous, but is charged by wider States policy to take account of the States Strategic Plan, including the increase in population that States members have decided is needed.
If such a policy of growth is necessary, then as an Island with limited land resources, we need some “Outside of the Box” forward thinking on how to make such a population policy fit with the Built and Natural Environment. The Island Plan is the tool Planning have to achieve this, but with other States policies forever changing or not being effectively controlled, this puts added pressure on the Planning department to constantly review the Island Plan. This is not an easy or quick task.
As I said in last year’s 20/20, forward planning is crucial and one of the biggest failings of the States in general, as insufficient depth of thought is given to the knock on effects of States policy before hand. This is not a problem caused by the Planning & Environment Minister, but one he ends up being charged with resolving. Before other departments or the States as a whole fix such policy, there needs to be much better cross department thinking and coordination with a properly resourced forward planning section involved at the outset, not later in the process as appears to be the case. States spin would suggest this is now happening under ministerial government, I have my doubts.
It appears to me that under the current way these matters are dealt with, it is inevitable that the incumbent Planning & Environment Minister is made the scapegoat for any perceived shortfalls.
Duhamel, is one of the few States Members we have who can think “Outside of the Box” and has an in depth understanding of the complex issues involved with the built and natural environment. Importantly, I believe he also has a social conscious and as such is ideally placed to be the Planning & Environment Minister. He however is not a “yes man” and this is probably the main reason why he has allegedly fallen out with other Ministers, but I would suggest this is another reason why he makes a good Planning Minister.
It is said among other things that Deputy Duhamel takes too long to make decisions, but this undermines the complexity of setting planning policy or the larger potentially contentious applications that come before the Minister. It has to be right that a Planning Minister takes time to take proper account of all the relevant circumstances involved in setting planning policy, or in considering the merits of an individual application.
No doubt as I write this article there are some States Members manoeuvring behind the scenes to oust Deputy Duhamel from the P&E hot seat and if it happens it will be interesting to see who is going to step up to the plate!
For my profession, it will signify another yo-yo period of not knowing what to expect from the department whilst the new incumbent settles into the roll of Planning and Environment Minister. This will be followed by what I call the “silly season” in the lead up to the elections in October, so we might even be faced with another new P&E Minister in November!
Importantly, if Deputy Duhamel is removed in the coming weeks, this
will put into jeopardy the current review of the Island Plan, something that other politicians have been calling for to be completed. So if the States remove Deputy Duhamel, they will be delaying the very thing that they say they want resolving. How ironic is that!
A better alternative, is that it would be nice for a change to have some continuity and a period of settled policy, something that has not happened for many years, so I hope that Deputy Duhamel survives the current moves to oust him and continues to be the Planning and Environment Minister for a further term from November. May be then he will be able to influence some “Outside of the Box” policy thinking that will be of benefit to our Island’s future and give the workings of the department a much needed overhaul in the process, as consistency of thinking and decision making by the department is one of the important things that my profession and our clients want to be achieved.
Fluid Architecture The role of an architectural professional is to deal with the complexities of gaining approval for and then managing the construction of any new building or extension. This requires a very high standard of planning and attention to detail by experts, such as Fluid Architecture.
Fluid Architecture and Fluid Interiors were formed by Mark Fauvel in 2008 as
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20/20 Habitat - The Home
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