The Seafront Enhancement Area ("SEA") programme is a States of Guernsey policy priority, concerned with producing a plan that best aligns multiple existing States of Guernsey priorities and work streams to provide one, consolidated plan for the enhancement of Guernsey's east coast.
The vision of the SEA programme is to "position Guernsey's east coast as a world class maritime location, thereby enhancing the socio-economic wellbeing of Guernsey as a whole."
It is recognised that this work will have to take into consideration a number of States' strategies and will require input from a number of different stakeholders including the third and private sectors. The work will culminate in the production of a long-term development strategy, which will inform the development of a Local Planning Brief for the St Peter Port and St Sampson's Harbour Action Areas.
Seafront enhancement area steering group
- To ensure a coordinated approach to the development of a plan for the enhancement of Guernsey's east coast, the SEA Steering Group was established and set the mandate to "coordinate the approach of the States of Guernsey to the Seafront Enhancement Area policy and for the potential enhancement of the eastern seaboard."
- The Steering Group is led by the Policy & Resources Committee, with membership from the Committee forEconomic Development, the Committee for theEnvironment & Infrastructure, the Development & Planning Authority, and the States Trading Supervisory Board.
- The Steering Group developed the vision for the SEA programme and also identified a number of enhancement principles and enhancement objectives, which can be accessed in the downloads section of this page. The enhancement principles establish the criteria that any potential development must adhere to, whilst the enhancement objectives set how the Steering Group is seeking to achieve the vision.
- With the vision, principles and objectives setting the scope of the programme, the Steering Group split the SEA programme into two work streams;
- 1. the development of a long-term plan for the enhancement of Guernsey's east coast; and
- 2. the identification of initial enhancement projects that could be carried out ahead of the long-term plan without restricting delivery of that plan.
Six sites that could enhance our seafront
- In Autumn 2018, six sites along the seafront were identified as opportunities for development. These six sites contain a mixture of short- and long-term development opportunities, and are:
- In November 2018, a public engagement was initiated that sought creative ideas from the community for each of these sites. This engagement ran for six weeks and resulted in over 350 creative ideas for the enhancement of the sites. Alongside this public engagement, the Steering Group also invited expressions of interest from external parties who were interested in enhancing the sites in line with the views of the public, receiving 35 formal proposals in response.
- These expressions of interest were then reviewed and shortlisted by the Steering Group, with the aim of identifying preferred bidders for each of the six sites.
- In May 2019, Vive La Vallette was announced as the first preferred bidder for the La Vallette kiosk & amenities and the La Vallette sites. Furthermore, in October 2019, the Steering Group announced two preferred bidders for the Round Top Stores, which will see both a landmark sculpture and an al fresco dining kiosk; and, in December 2019, the Steering Group announced the preferred bidder for the States Offices.
Long-Term Plan
- In February 2019, the Steering Group held a two day workshop with the aim of hearing from stakeholders about what they considered to be the issues and opportunities facing Guernsey's east coast, and, as such, what they believed the priorities of the SEA programme should be. In total, 23 different stakeholder groups, covering a wide range of issues relevant to the SEA programme, submitted written responses and presented to the Steering Group.
- These submissions and presentations highlighted to the Steering Group a number of key themes where stakeholders' views were aligned. Using these key themes, the Steering Group developed a number of statements of intent, outlining developments that the Steering Group want to investigate including in the long-term plan. The statements of intent are:
- Enhance the contribution of Guernsey's arts sector, through the provision of facilities that enable the creation and display of both local and international arts.
- Provide infrastructure that enables both the effective operation of, and maximises the socio-economic contribution of, the Harbours.
- Enhance the economic contribution of Guernsey's tourist industry through development that focuses on (a) recreational activities, including enhancing Guernsey's culture and leisure offering, (b) providing suitable visitor accommodation, and (c) improving existing transport infrastructure.
- Enhance the contribution of Guernsey's arts sector, through the provision of facilities that enable the creation and display of both local and international arts.
- Support Guernsey's fishing industry through development that provides suitable infrastructure to enable the effective operation of the industry.
- Investigate the potential for Guernsey to become a premier destination for the berthing of superyachts.
- Support Guernsey's cruise industry through development that (a) improves the ease of transferring passengers to and from ships, and (b) enhances the cultural and recreational offer of Guernsey's east coast for cruise passengers.
- Investigate the need for development to meet demand for business premises and housing.
- Undertake development that increases the environmental contribution of Guernsey's east coast.
- Maximise opportunities for the provision of open space along Guernsey's east coast.
- Support Guernsey's leisure boat industry through development that provide suitable infrastructure and facilities that will benefit both local and visiting yachtsmen.
- Undertake development that increases the connection between people and place.
- Address the impact of parking in St Peter Port by relocating the parking away from the surface of the piers, without reducing (a) the number of spaces in the St Peter Port main centre inner area, and (b) the ease of access into the St Peter Port main centre inner area.
- Provide infrastructure that protects Guernsey's east coast from predicted sea level rise over the next century.
- Investigate the potential for Guernsey to increase its production of marine based renewable energy.
- Improve the accessibility of the main centre inner areas along Guernsey's east coast.
- Evaluate movement along the seafront with the aim of creating an appropriate balance of pedestrian and motor vehicle activity in this area.
- The Steering Group will now be undertaking research to understand the extent of the options afforded to the SEA programme by each of the statements of intent. In many cases, this research will involve engagement with key stakeholders and with the general public to gather understanding about the issues and opportunities facing Guernsey's east coast.
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