'Incomprehensible': Campaigners hit back at Minister's claim all sports must leave Fort Regent

Friends of Fort Regent have responded to the Assistant Sports Minister's claim that Fort Regent is "now beyond the end of its useful life from a sporting perspective."

On Friday, Deputy Lucy Stephenson wrote that the facility is in a challenging location, meaning relocating all its sports clubs can ensure they are "more modern, more accessible" and "fit-for-purpose."

However, campaigners have responded with a letter disputing this argument, saying they "strongly disagree" that its closure is in the best interest of islanders.

Specifically, the campaign group Friends of Fort Regent called it "incomprehensible" that users of the site will soon need to travel to new venues which it claims do not even have suitable levels of parking.

The group also says there remains "no formal application and no defined vision" of what the facility will look like once all the sports clubs have been removed.

It is calling on the government to publish a "clear plan on the future use of the building" before it relocates them all.

Furthermore, it is urging the island's politicians to scrutinize the decision, and asks for a more "inclusive and collaborative process."

However, the Assistant Minister's position is that the proposals have been "widely shared with the current Fort Regent tenants and discussed and negotiated over an extended period."

She has also left the door open to sports facilities returning to the site at some point in the future.

Under the previous Chief Minister, the government wanted to redevelop the historic site into a "cultural hub," claiming the current sports facilities at the site were no longer fit for purpose.

Two years later, its successors said those plans could not be achieved in the current economic climate and plans to build a new cinema, casino, 150-bedroom hotel and event venue at Fort Regent have been scrapped.

And in February this year, Jersey's Infrastructure Minister, Deputy Tom Binet, said ministers were "reassessing what is feasible" and "remain committed to developing an affordable and deliverable proposal for the future of Fort Regent."

Friends of Fort Regent was set up the following month to put pressure on politicians to rethink the decision to relocate the site's sports facilities.

Those behind the group cited the importance of physical exercise, community and economic benefits and have launched a petition to prove support which so far has more than 2,400 signatures.

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