In brief: Jersey’s planning and building department is facing a £2 million income shortfall this year because large-scale planning applications have dried up. The department is managing the gap through internal savings and may need to draw on central reserves. Officials believe the situation is temporary, but warn that a structural rethink may be needed if big applications do not return within three years.
The £2 Million Gap
A significant hole has opened up in the finances of Jersey’s planning and building department, with Infrastructure and Environment chief officer Andy Scate telling a Scrutiny panel that the shortfall in planning and building income this year stands at around £2,000,000. The Jersey Evening Post reports that Mr Scate made the disclosure during a hearing with the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Panel.
The cause, Mr Scate explained, is straightforward: while there is still “a good number of planning applications coming in”, they are “of a smaller nature”. In 2025 and 2026, the Island has simply not seen the volume of large submissions that would normally be expected, and it is those big applications that generate the heftier fees which keep the department’s books in order.
How the Department Is Coping
When income falls short, Mr Scate told Deputy Alex Curtis, the first expectation from the Treasurer is that the department tries to make savings internally, including holding jobs and other measures to offset the loss. However, he acknowledged that as year-end approaches and the financial position looks “more fraught”, a further conversation with Treasury about drawing on central reserves may become necessary.
Planning and Regulation Minister Sir Mark Boleat sought to reassure the panel that statutory responsibilities are still being met despite current staffing levels. “We’re prioritising,” he said, while conceding that “we’re not doing as much as we would like.” That is, perhaps, the kind of candour that taxpayers rarely hear from government ministers, and it deserves some credit, even if the underlying situation raises questions about how a department funded largely by application fees manages its finances when the development pipeline slows.
A Temporary Blip or a Structural Problem?
Mr Scate was at pains to stress that the drop in income has only been observed over the past two years, and that he expects it to recover. “We do feel that it’s going to bounce back again,” he said, pointing to pressures within the development industry, including inflation on construction costs, difficulties accessing development finance, and tighter consumer finance conditions, as the reasons why large projects have stalled rather than disappeared permanently.
“I can’t foresee a situation where the Island will not produce any big planning applications ever more,” he told the panel, expressing confidence that as the industry grows more confident and financial conditions ease, applications will return.
However, he was careful to set a timeline. If the bounce-back does not materialise within the next three years, he said there would need to be “a conversation about a structural change to our income assumptions.” In plain English: if the big projects do not come back, the department’s funding model, which relies heavily on fee income from large developments, may need to be fundamentally rethought.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
