Should the Masterplan be Rescinded?

Below are details of the original plan. Not only has the timetable gone, in which the sunken road was due to start the project, the original developer - Harcourt - have gone - and where in these times of austerity is anyone going to fund a sunken road to the depth of £45m (and that's 2007 figures, not adjusted for inflation) beggars belief

Karl Popper made a distinction between "piecemeal social planning" and "utopian planning" and the key difference is that utopian planning almost invariably fails because of unexpected consequences not allowed for, and which a large clean slate approach is ill-equipped to address.

In fact, the procedure followed by the Jersey Development Company has largely scrapped the original plans, and is developing the site piecemeal, as can be seen most clearly by the numbering of the buildings in the plans passed, which demonstrate how at odds it is with the original sequence of buildings. Popper notes that "the piecemeal method permits repeated experiments and continuous readjustments” which is exactly what we have seen.

Reading it now, over ten years later, the Masterplan seems like the deranged dream of a madman.

"a temporary dual carriageway through the existing Esplanade Square car park"

"a roundabout would be provided on the underground section"

"The current proposal is for a temporary steel framed structure for 250 car spaces to be erected at Elizabeth terminal."

"Much of this work will not affect the current road network and the periods of disruption should therefore be much shorter."

Quite how the States were ever persuaded that it was ever a good idea seems incredible, until you realise that the plan - as sold to them - was to be entirely the risk of the developer Harcourt, there would be a substantial return to the States, and there would be a bond in place to cover the cost, just in case Harcourt went bust trying to do all this.

It seemed a win-win situation, and was cheerfully promoted by Planning Minister Freddie Cohen, who seemed to have a love affair with any idea that had the word "masterplan" attached to it, as well as "iconic and "world class", both of which surface in the debates in Hansard.

Of course Harcourt were pushed out, the Jersey Development Company took over, and the whole Masterplan was effectively junked, except of course that - rather like the Hospital Plans - this still remains the one passed by the States and on the table. Time for rescindment?

Original Plan (my italics)

The cost to the developers of lowering the road is estimated at £45m.

Sinking the main road is a significant project taking 2-3 years. Traffic management measures during construction will include a temporary dual carriageway through the existing Esplanade Square car park.

The cost of sinking the road is guaranteed and has been ascribed a value of £45 million and the work will be completed at no cost and risk to the States of Jersey

The Hopkins Masterplan proposes to sink La Route de la Liberation, so that traffic would pass through an underground tunnel from a point between Patriotic Street and Gloucester Street to the current eastern end of the existing underpass. This has the significant benefit of removing the above ground dual carriageway and greatly improving pedestrian connectivity between the Waterfront and the original St Helier town area. At the same time it maximizes space available for development.

Firstly, the development proposals assumed that a roundabout would be provided on the underground section of La Route de la Liberation providing direct access to 1420 underground parking spaces. Whilst this would help to keep traffic flowing, Capita Symonds advise that junctions in road tunnels are unusual, because of accident risk and associated mechanical and electrical issues. They believe that it could be made safe, ‘subject to careful attention to geometry, signing and traffic controls’. It is essential that the emergency services are involved in this element of the design process.

An alternative arrangement is now being developed in which there would not be an underground junction in the road. This will offer the opportunity for comparison and requires a new assessment of the impact this would have on the above ground road network. New proposals must also be submitted for access to the underground car park and measures to mitigate the increased volume of traffic above ground.

There will be several stages of temporary traffic management with varying degrees of disruption, but the principal proposal for a temporary dual carriageway through the current Esplanade car park will give similar capacity to the current road network. Detailed analysis of the stages will be required of the developer with restrictions imposed to ensure that disruption is minimised. The below ground works (burying/realigning la Route de la Liberation and car park construction) are likely to take approximately three years. Much of this work will not affect the current road network and the periods of disruption should therefore be much shorter.

Capita Symonds conclude that a satisfactory arrangement can be developed.

Temporary Parking Provision

The existing temporary Esplanade Square car park has 525 public parking spaces and these will be replaced in underground parking once the scheme is completed. During construction, these spaces will be lost. To compensate, the developer will be required to provide 250 temporary spaces. The current proposal is for a temporary steel framed structure for 250 car spaces to be erected at Elizabeth terminal. To supplement this, motorists will be able to use 300 spaces which are currently left empty at Pier Road car park on weekday

Flooding

The land immediately to the north of the development site has been subject to flooding in the past. Though much less frequent in recent years, overtopping of the sea wall and flooding back along the Esplanade can still occur in certain weather and tide conditions.

The developer must investigate this problem and ensure sufficient mitigation is included at the detailed design phase to ensure the tunnel and underground car park will be adequately protected. Options must be considered and approved by the Minister for Transport and Technical Services to ensure that the proposed scheme does not adversely affect the current surface water drainage system in the area.

Running the dual carriageway through the basement permits construction costs to be more easily absorbed within the overall development. There will be specific requirements to ensure the safety and stability of the road and the construction over.

There will be environmental issues that will need to be resolved. These include, but are not limited to, air quality within the tunnel and smoke extraction. Also there are technical issues to be resolved, such as noise generated in the tunnel and how to isolate this from the buildings above.
The States Transportation and Technical Services Department has advised that there is an existing flood problem in St Helier. At times of certain high tides coinciding with strong storms, water runs up the beach and overtops the sea wall in the area of Patriotic Street and Kensington Place, to the west of the site. The water then collects in this area, which is low lying, and causes flooding.

The existing underpass is not affected by this flooding because its western end rises to a higher level (see section ‘flood risks’ in this report).

Dealing with flooding The proposed tunnel will rise to ground level at its western end at a location at which ground level is approximately 7.8m and falling within the area subject to flooding. The developer will have to liaise with the States of Jersey to provide a solution to the sea water flooding experienced by St Helier. There are several potential options available and further design development would be required in order to determine the best solution, either for the tunnel in isolation, or alternatively in conjunction with a solution for the wider flooding problem.

These include:

(a) providing an artificial high point in the road alignment at the approach to the tunnel portal, in conjunction with flood control walls along both sides of the road between the artificial high point and the tunnel approach ramp;

(b) provision of flood doors at the western portal or at the top of the western approach ramp; or

(c) provision of a flood control wall along the southern side of the road for the full length between the western tunnel approach ramp and the West Park junction. The ground levels at this location are likely to be at a level sufficient to form a barrier and western protection against flooding.

Some modification of the marine slipway will be required irrespective of whether any of these alternatives are adopted for control of flooding. However if alternatives (a) or (c) are adopted, further modification would be required to accommodate the flood control wall. This impact could be largely mitigated by provision of a flood gate to permit access through the flood wall to/from the slipway at this location.

Car Parking

The Esplanade Quarter will provide parking for 1420 cars. Providing car parking above ground is visually unacceptable, contrary to planning advice and would result in loss of other more beneficial uses for land at ground floor and above. The entire parking provision can be achieved within two basement levels beneath the entire site.

The sea wall will be revealed within the basement areas, creating space for pedestrian access to and from the Esplanade while providing natural daylight and ventilation. The zone also delineates a gateway boundary to the new quarter.

A roundabout beneath the scheme on the lowered La Route de la Liberation provides a means of access for car parking and servicing on either side of the dual carriageway. The headroom requirements for lorry deliveries will inform the layout.

Noise levels

The main road, La Route de la Liberation, will be beneath the site. The design and detailing must acknowledge both the air and structure borne noise sources in the development proposals. Noise from plant will be considered within the planning application

Air quality

As with noise, La Route de la Liberation beneath the site will have air quality issues. The underground car parking will require ventilation to ensure that the air quality is at least of sufficient standard to meet regulation requirements. If possible this should be achieved through natural ventilation