Jersey construction industry calls for action

The construction industry in Jersey says it is under a lot of pressure

The Jersey government is being urged not to cut back spending on planned building projects in the island.

The Jersey Construction Council (JeCC) is also calling on the government to reduce "red tape" by easing planning permission requirements.

It added that work to allow affordable housing projects to start, needed to speed up.

The JeCC is warning of further redundancies in the construction sector if these measures are not taken.

JeCC Chairman Simon Matthews said: "Members are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on planned public spend.

"Each year, the government publishes their Government Plan, which teases on the promises of more investment in homes, schools and other public infrastructure.

"But each year, the dates and targets for planned spend are missed, and projects roll forward to the next year.

"How can we, as an industry, work with that?"

Minister for the Environment, Jonathan Renouf said the government was trying to target spending more accurately.

"There's been a really big focus this year on making sure that those projects that go into the budget are actually likely to be deliverable," he said.

"So we've tried to be much more rigorous about testing whether those projects really are going to be delivered.

"So I think there is hope that we can be more focused on making sure delivery does happen when it goes into the Government Plan."