New Waterfront May Be On The Way

admin · 11-07-2008, 11:21 AM

A MOVE to create a second waterfront with up to 800 houses at Elizabeth Harbour by moving the port to La Collette is just one of the radical ideas proposed for the Island over the next ten years.

Moving the fuel farm offshore, having tall buildings in town and developing on brownfield sites are all suggested ways of dealing with an estimated increase in the population to combat the Island’s ageing society.

The proposed Island Plan suggests that by 2035 there will be one worker for every non-worker, with the working population unable to support the elderly. As a result, the green paper allows for a net immigration of more than 250 workers a year, which with accompanying family will make an estimated 540 people a year. The 2002 Island Plan accommodated for a population increase of 200 workers a year.

That 2002 plan had to be scrapped four years early because of pressing issues affecting the Island, including the future of the economy, urban regeneration, the impact of an ageing population, the future of the ports and housing needs. The green paper, which is the first stage in forming the next Island Plan, was unveiled to the media yesterday and was made available to the public today.