Fermain kiosk process criticised as 'very shabby'

Andrea Lewis organised a petition to keep the current tenants

A woman who organised a petition to keep the current tenants at the new Fermain kiosk says the decision to re-award the lease was "very shabby."

Andrea Lewis said signatories of the petition, which had nearly 3,000 names, were "very upset and very shocked, but not that surprised" by the States' decision to award the lease to a new company.

Mrs Lewis said she felt it was "painfully obvious" the petition would be rejected after organisers were met with "breath-taking" hostility when they handed in the petition in May.

The States said the new lease was awarded after an "impartial" and competitive tender process that included an independent industry expert.

'More transparency'

"This is no way to represent islanders, it's very shabby," Mrs Lewis said.

The current tenants of the kiosk, Belmiro and Manuela de Frietas, have run the business for 21 years.

Mrs Lewis said the States "did not appreciate anything the current tenants had done" since they took over the then-derelict cafe.

Mrs Lewis said they had "listened to what people really wanted", so she did not understand why the States had decided to put the contract up for tender.

She also questioned whether there were any "financial guarantees in place" to ensure commitments made by the winning tender were met, adding that she felt "there should have been more transparency" in the process.

Mark Ogier, director of estates for the States Property Unit (SPU), said it went through an "impartial" process and looked at all applicants "objectively".

"There will always be public opinion of these things and [there is] a loyal following down there," he said.