Constable pulls proposal for town council funding

PLANS to form a town council have not been shelved, the St Helier Constable has said, despite withdrawing an amendment to the Government Plan for £15,000 of funding.

Earlier this month a vote was passed in the St Helier Parish Assembly to set up a shadow town council, in the hope that this would be a predecessor of a body that would take powers from the States on parish matters such as infrastructure, licensing and planning.

Mr Crowcroft had submitted an amendment for £15,000 to be released to explore the town council options. However, he decided to pull the request after other amendments were rejected earlier in the debate.

Despite this, he insisted the plans were still on the table and that an election would take place next month to select five shadow councillors including one between the age of 16 and 25.

Mr Crowcroft explained: ‘This isn’t the plans being put on hold, I just pulled the amendment because the way it was going on in the States, they were all getting knocked back.

‘The idea is about taking powers from the States and easing the load on their shoulders, but I pulled it with what was happening.

‘I will put it back in over the new year.’

The idea of a town council has been worked on for around a year. In 2020, discussions will begin with States departments about what responsibilities could be transferred to such a body and how the town council would work in practice.

Mr Crowcroft added: ‘We will discuss with the Environment Minister [John Young] about taking over smaller matters, such as permission for signage, because he will want to be focusing on other things such as the Island Plan.’