Our Parish

It is not my objective just to be a States Member; I want to serve my home parish. I have been very active in parish matters for many years. As Chairman of the St John Youth and community trust I together with my fellow trustees have already delivered the St John Skatepark, and are currently assessing other needs in the parish such as refurbishment of the children's play area by the church and safer road crossings

Our young people. We have some fantastic young people in our parish and have an active youth club. I do however believe that young families could benefit from additional facilities for the under sevens, such as play areas perhaps at the Recreation Centre and in the Sion area. As children get older it is important to ensure that they are kept focused and occupied which is why the provision of facilities such as the skate park and an active youth club is so important. I will be liaising closely with the Recreation centre management team and the youth club leaders to do what ever I can to ensure that the redevelopment of the Recreation centre meets the demands of our young people now and in the future.

Our School. With both my children having attended at St Johns Primary school, I cannot praise the school enough; it has a fantastic staff and is a true community school. However outdoor facilities at the school remain much smaller than desired and unfortunately the logistics of using the Rec for short periods of sports/recreation is not always practical. This is why I have campaigned for a number of years to have field to the south of the school rezoned for recreational use. I am pleased to say that this has now been recognised in the island plan and pointed out very clearly in the excellent work done by the St John Village plan group. I would like to now seek funding to acquire the land and provide the outdoor facilities that the school clearly needs.

The Parish Environment. We are fortunate to live in such a green and pleasant parish and we should strive to keep it that way. I am committed to ensuring that the rural environment of St John is protected now and for future generations. I will oppose any inappropriate development in the parish and do my best to ensure we adhere to the Island Plan.

In my manifesto in 2005 I committed to the introduction of a kerb side-recycling scheme. I am delighted that with the assistance of sponsors, TTS and the Parish, St John became the first parish to have such a scheme. Not content with that I then worked with two other parishes introducing them to sponsors and the same collection concept. Unfortunately despite my best efforts others have been slower to respond but it is something that I still feel passionate about so will be discussing the success of the St John Scheme with other parishes again.

I would like to extend this scheme further by creating a wood recycling point where parishioners can take unwanted wood and others can take it away for small DIY jobs or simply to use as firewood or kindling.

We can continue to make St John as "green" as the background of our parish crest.

Main drains. A number of parishioners still remain unconnected to mains drains. I believe that through a process of carefully negotiated private public partnerships some of the connectivity issues could be resolved. If elected I would endeavour to investigate further to fully establish if further expansion of the sewerage system is viable.

Transport. Understandably, we don't have the same level of public transport enjoyed by more populous parishes, that's not to say it couldn't be better. I would work for a better frequency of commuter service and at least one later evening service. Although St Johns is blessed with a network of green lanes we have no dedicated cycle tracks. I have already begun to investigate together with the Youth and Community Trust a scheme to link St John with St Helier by way of a possible cycle track.

Roads. Although most parish roads are kept in good order it seems to me the States are not doing their bit. Many of the main roads in the parish, which are administered by Public Services, are not being maintained to an acceptable standard. This is an example of local government doing a good job while central government fails and I will do everything possible to ensure the States deliver on their part of the bargain.

Parish Rates. The threat of Central government (the States) putting more financial burden on the parishes is a real possibility. We must be alive to that prospect and my experience in dealing with senior politicians will ensure that St John is strongly represented in this matter.