Push to hand lido to community group criticised

Jersey's Council of Ministers has said it is disappointing that a deputy wants to stop and overturn a tender process to run a popular bathing pool site.

The government has picked the company First Point to run Havre de Pas Lido from next year following the tender.

The chair of a steering group for the site, Deputy David Warr, claimed that process was not carried out properly, and lodged a proposition for the running of the site to be handed to community group Love our Lido.

Ministers said the tender process was overseen by an independent panel and negotiations with the community group were unsuccessful.

There have been several disagreements over the running of the lido in recent years, and islanders protested to protect its future last year.

Those protests led to a debate over the future of the bathing pool complex to be cancelled.

Now, though, at the next States sitting, politicians are due to debate whether to agree to Warr's proposal.

The Council of Ministers said undoing the tender process would cause "delay, wasted costs, and stagnation", and set a precedent that the States may not respect the outcome of an independent public process.

It said it was time to move forward and, if the proposition was rejected, that could happen with an "experienced local business which is rooted in the community".

First Point said it wanted to offer more activities, such as volleyball and galas, and make the bathing pool and surrounding area "a resort like Benidorm".