Ministry of Justice asked to resolve electricity dispute in Sark

The Managing Director of Sark Electricity Ltd has written to the Ministry of Justice in a bid to resolve the ongoing standoff with the Chief Pleas.

Alan Witney-Price has called on the department to facilitate face-to-face interviews to end the dispute with the island's Policy & Finance Committee, which he says have adopted a 'scorched earth' policy.

In open correspondence with the head of the Ministry of Justice's Crown Dependencies Team, Mr Witney-Price says he has also moved back the deadline for a resolution to 5 August.

In the letter, he said: "Progress, by mediation or otherwise, is simply impossible while the Government simply refuses to communicate with us and there appears to be no meaningful likelihood of a change to P&F’s stance.

"That being said, I continue to have faith that resolution to our differences can be found if the parties are in a place where dialogue must take place. I continue to sit, metaphorically, at the table and wait for the remaining stakeholders to join me."

Sark's elected parliament commenced plans for a compulsory purchase of the company in November 2021, but Mr Witney-Price says there has been no progress on this front since.

There has also been an ongoing dispute over the issue of replacing power cables running between Sark and Little Sark, which Mr Witney Price says has been blocked by politicians.