P&R warned infrastructure cuts will hurt islanders

Upgrading Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital is one of the projects a risk

Concerns have been raised over the future of some of Guernsey's major infrastructure projects as officials review their funding.

Policy and Resources (P&R) announced the review after the committee's plans to increase income tax in 2025 and raise £34m were rejected.

President Lyndon Trott had previously warned projects including at the hospital, schools and Alderney runway could be cut.

Groups associated with the projects said any cuts could have effects including longer hospital waiting times.

Recruitment concerns

Nick Dove, chairman of the Royal College of Nursing for Guernsey, said common sense needed to be applied to funding the hospital upgrade, which is already over budget.

"Recruitment is massive, we are up against Jersey and the Isle of Man, which have newer facilities than we do," he said.

"If you are looking to go and work in a shiny new hospital, the work that is being done is a real thing to bring people in.

"In the long term, that next phase [of development] will actually start to bring waiting lists down potentially, as we could get more people moving through the system."

'Island full of puffins'

Steve Roberts, the vice-president of the States of Alderney, said cutting the runway extension project could jeopardise the future of the airport.

"The project should have been done two years ago, it's been put back and put back," he said.

"That has cost £250,000 every time it's renewed and patched up, it's cost them a fortune.

"We're in danger of having it closed."

Mr Roberts said the airport was vital for the transfer of hospital patients from the island.

"Do you want to put them on a 12-seater boat up a ladder? Some of them can't even walk," he said.

"It's an absolute disgrace."

Mr Roberts said there are other ways of raising money that would not "ruin" the island's businesses.

"They're going to ruin the population, you'll empty the island, it will end up an island full of puffins," he said.

'Immediate financial challenge'

Education, Sport and Culture President Deputy Andrea Dudley Owen said the Guernsey Institute project, which involves demolishing the St Peter Port School to make way for an £88m educational campus, was vital for the island's future.

"There has been significant underinvestment in many areas for decades in Guernsey," she said.

"A lot of this work is racing to catch up to make sure that we are providing best value and able to demonstrate that best value for taxpayers."

P&R said: "The portfolio of infrastructure projects would need to be reviewed if the Assembly was unable to agree the temporary increase in the personal rate of income tax.

"This increase, as clearly explained by our committee both in the lead-up to the debate and throughout the four-day meeting, was essential to address the immediate financial challenge we face and secure the continued investment in infrastructure."