Jersey Gas site earmarked for new primary school

The States Assembly has agreed to earmark the Jersey Gas site as a location for a new primary school.

It means the land has now been safeguarded for either a school, or an extension of the Millennium Town Park.

The vote came as politicians continue to debate the Island Plan - the document which dictates how each piece of land in Jersey can be used.

The planning process will determine at a later date how the site on Tunnell Street in St Helier is used.

Chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, Deputy Rob Ward, said due to the size of the site, it would be possible to build a new primary school with outdoor play areas and sports facilities, while also extending the Millennium Town Park.

"Not only would you have children going to school in a green area... you will create a way for our children to walk to school through a green park into a green space, smack-bang in the centre of St Helier," he said.

The debate took place as government officials have for a number of months been conducting a review of the primary school facilities available in St Helier and St Saviour.

St Saviour Deputy Louise Doublet opposed the motion, saying the location should instead be used to extend the Millennium Town Park.

"What is much more important than any type of building, and what the residents, children and adults of all ages, desperately need in that area of town and of course the edge of St Saviour, is access to nature and open spaces," she said.

Thirty-eight States members voted for the motion, while eight voted against.

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