Brett to review the quality and character of St Helier who, in summary of his work, suggested the need to develop:
“...a positive interest in all that is best, and the improvement of what is less appropriate, in a town which still contains many buildings of merit and charm.”
Subsequent studies of St Helier, undertaken by Mel Dunbar Associates (1984) and Willie Miller Urban Design (2005) have sought to understand and interpret the character and qualities of the
town, and their enthusiasm for what the town has to offer also shines out from their work.
So why the current perceived lack of enthusiasm from Islanders about what their town has to offer? My work to regenerate the town of St Helier will explore this and engage with those who live and work here and who have an active stake in its future. Much work has already been done to study and assess St Helier, to identify its strengths and to highlight the challenges that it faces. I want to pull this together into a
clear, comprehensive and accessible vision for the town that reflects the aspirations of everyone that lives, works and visits our town so that this can be taken forward with confidence on the basis of a shared view.
I’m conscious that whilst the States has backed a strategy that concentrates the development of many more homes in St Helier, it is essential to focus on the kind of places we want to create in town; the space and buildings are crucial to how we use it – and whether we want to use it. The sentiment expressed by Lord Rogers, in the Urban Task Force Report, is as much applicable to the regeneration of St Helier as it was to the urban renaissance of English cities:
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“People make cities, but cities make citizens. The condition of our cities cannot be ignored because the lesson of history is that, depending upon the quality of life they offer, they can and will humanize or brutalise their inhabitants”
If we want to develop sustainable communities we need to combine the design of the physical environment with a focus on how people live. We need to ensure that St Helier is a liveable town, offering pleasant and stimulating places for people to pass through and visit; that it is a social town,
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with inclusive places for community activities and for people to meet; and an economically vibrant town, where local business is well- connected to its customers. St Helier also needs to be resilient to long term environmental challenges, such as climate change.
The provision of an attractive home will be important in persuading people to live in St Helier but other factors may be even more important: social sustainability is about people’s quality of life. The quality of local services, the performance of town schools, air quality and cleanliness, and perceptions of safety and crime rates, may be equally or more important. Housing can, therefore, only be a driver for urban regeneration if supported by a range of other factors.
The challenge to regenerate St Helier is, therefore, multi- faceted and overdue: it is also an exciting one, and presents much opportunity for the town and the Island. I want to develop a clear action plan that is generated from and supported by the people who live in and use town. It can only be realised by working together and I look forward to doing this across government and the community to bring about change and a new chapter in St Helier’s history by making it a place of choice once again.
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20/20 - Our Home
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