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Questions and answers provided by the Waterfront Enterprise board
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Q.1. Where did the idea for a bridge come from?

A bridge was added to the Waterfront Master Plan by Jersey’s Planning Department after members of the public said it would be a good way of accessing the site.

The public’s views were expressed during an extensive two-day public consultation held over two weekends, called Waterfront 2000. Eighty people from a variety of interested groups and societies took part and suggested a whole bridge network be built, made up of four bridges.

However, the subsequent working group realised this would cost tens of millions of pounds, which in the current financial climate seems too expensive and too elaborate. Instead, they proposed building one bridge to link St Helier to the waterfront.

This concept, approved by the architects appointed by the Planning and Environment Committee was approved by the Committee with WEB being requested to amend its master plan accordingly.

Q.2. Why choose to hold a competition?

The Waterfront Enterprise Board decided a competition was the best way of achieving a world-class design for the project. It meant residents could see a variety of designs from expert bridge designers, and increase the chances of getting a top quality proposal.

WEB also thought a competition was an interesting way of involving the public in an important Island decision.

Q.3. Why were Islanders asked to choose a bridge before knowing if one is going to be built at all?

The idea behind asking residents to select their favourite design before holding the opinion poll, was to allow Islanders to make a fully informed decision. This way people will know exactly which design they are basing their decision on, how it will fit into the waterfront complex and how much it will cost to build.

Otherwise, WEB would be asking “Do you want a bridge?” without saying exactly where it would go, what it would look like and how much it will cost. Obviously, Islanders need to know exactly what they will get, before they can be asked if they want it.

Q.4. Where will the bridge go?

If the bridge is built it will improve access from the end of Castle Street to the future centre of the new waterfront. Once the waterfront is complete the bridge will lead people right to its heart, which will be a new landscaped park area to the west of the cinema.

Q5. How much will it cost to build?

The cost of the bridge is currently being evaluated and will be made public well ahead of the Town Hall presentation on Friday, February 21st, and Saturday, February 22nd, and the opinion poll.

The money will be raised through the sale of land on the waterfront and not from the budgets of other States departments like Health and Education. If the bridge is not built, that money will still be used for other developments on the waterfront site.

Q.6. Who will be able to use the bridge?

The bridge will give pedestrians and cyclists safe and easy access to and from the waterfront complex. It has also been designed with ramps either side so it can be used by people with disabilities and those pushing prams.

Q.7. Why do we have to decide now whether we want a bridge?

If a bridge is built it will affect what else is built in the surrounding area like the development of the Esplanade car park site for housing, offices, public buildings and an underground car park, together with housing on the West of Albert Site. It is not possible to go ahead with these other developments and then fit a bridge in at a later date – it has to come at the beginning, otherwise the whole area is blighted

Q.8. Who are Flint & Neill, Michael Hopkins and Partners and Geo-Engineering Consulting Services?

They are the three companies involved in the winning bridge design. Flint & Neill are expert bridge designers based in London, Michael Hopkins and Partners are the UK architects who came up with the design and Geo-Engineering Consulting Services is a Jersey company.

Q.9. Why are the designers coming back to the Island?

To give Islanders another chance to see the winning design before they finally decide if they want it to be built. Members of the public will be able to get their questions answered and see a new model of the bridge which will show how it would fit in with the overall waterfront development.

Also, the designers have made some minor amendments following comments from members of the public at the exhibition in November.

The public presentation will give the designers a chance to explain what has now been done to make the bridge more sheltered and deter people from dropping objects on the road below. Both these changes have been made at the request of the public

Following the designers visit the professional market research company NOP will carry out a telephone survey. At least one thousand people will be asked for their views, and they will make up a representative sample of the Island’s population.

The findings of the survey will be published in March.

Q.10. What happens if the NOP poll finds Islanders do not want a bridge?

The reason for asking the public was to find out what level of support there was for the project. If a significant majority of Islanders decide they do not want the bridge to be built, WEB will be guided entirely by their decision and will then seek the views of the Planning and Environment Committee who requested the bridge be built in the first place.