The National Trust for Jersey’s Line in the Sand gathering, designed to show the depth of concern among Islanders of all ages and from every walk of life about the impact of excessive or insensitive development, will be the most significant public gathering in Jersey for many years. It will no doubt be a polite and good-natured demonstration, but the seriousness of its message must not be underestimated.
The intention is to send a clear message to a Council of Ministers dedicated to expansion, immigration and traditional models of economic growth, that they have allowed development to go too far and that a counterbalancing change of emphasis is now required, not by a marginal group of environmental purists but by a wide-ranging coalition of the Jersey public. As the event’s slogan indicates, it is time for a line to be drawn. That line does not suggest an end to all development, of course, but its advocates seek to mark an end to careless, selfish and damaging development.
Sunday’s demonstration is itself part of the National Trust for Jersey’s excellent Coastline Campaign, a sustained effort to remind us of the delights, and the vulnerability, of Jersey’s wonderful coastal areas.
Brilliantly led by the trust’s popular president, naturalist Mike Stentiford, the campaign has attracted support not only from the Island’s grass roots but from an ever-growing list of authoritative, influential organisations and individuals. It is now surely impossible for the States to ignore its message.
The main focus of Sunday’s event may be the coast, but the ideals and issues behind it have a wider application. For many of those taking part it will also be an expression of concern about over-development in general and the way in which official lip service to the protection of Jersey’s heritage, environment and countryside seems increasingly contradicted by the evidence of our own eyes in almost every corner of the Island.
The problems of development and population growth are not unique to Jersey: they are global. However, they are greatly magnified by the small size of the Island and intensified by contrast with the over-riding desire felt by most of its residents to protect its outstanding beauty and what is left of its traditional way of life.
Unfortunately, those sentiments appear less and less to be shared, or even understood, by some of the States Members whose decisions determine the quality of life for the rest of us. The strategies recently adopted on immigration and what might be termed the ‘sea views for millionaires’ planning policy which is now ringing the coast with grandiose new properties can only aggravate that situation if left unchallenged.
Collectively, our elected representatives are notorious for their lack of responsiveness to public opinion and their inability to think through the consequences of their decisions. Mike Stentiford’s invitation to all Islanders to join him on the beach on Sunday offers a vital opportunity to encourage a new and more reflective political consensus.
