Deputy Maclean believes the signal station should be reinstated as it is an important part of Jersey’s maritime and commercial heritage.
Until last year the signal station was the last working one in the British Isles and was established at the time of the Napoleonic Wars about 300 years ago.
The daily raising of the flags was scrapped last year because of the costs involved, which were in excess of £70,000 a year, split between Jersey Harbours and Education, Sport and Culture.
There were two full-time members of staff who carried out the work.
Deputy Maclean will not sanction spending that sort of money but he does believe a more cost-effective way can be found to put back this ‘valuable reminder of the Island’s rich maritime history’.
‘In my view the flags were much loved by Islanders and considered an important part of Jersey’s history,’ he said.
The Deputy is responsible for Jersey Harbours, which is the department that was responsible for running the signal station.
‘It went as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
It had been scaled down over the years because there was no operational purpose for the station.
In recent times, Jersey Heritage have been putting up the flags on special occasions like the Queen’s birthday and Liberation Day,’ he said.
He added that he would like to see a large Jersey flag or something similar flying from the station when it is re-established.
‘Jersey Tourism has an initiative at the moment for more Island flags to fly and people will have noticed the ones on Victoria Avenue.
We will be looking at budgets of some other departments to help finance the signal station,’ he said.
