Fort's Future Uses Shortlisted

The government has drawn up a shortlist of three potential options for the future of Fort Regent.

It comes ahead of the venue's first major event since it had to partially close earlier this year.

The Jersey Symphony Orchestra will perform at the Fort this weekend, the first large event since a cap of 1,170 people was introduced in March.

That was because a fire risk assessment revealed several safety issues - including with signs, lighting and fire exits.

While the Fort's short-term future is looking more positive, there's still no definitive plan for its long-term use.

The main ideas being considered are creating a sports village with a 50-metre Olympic pool, botanic gardens or a leisure complex with a conference centre, hotel and casino.

The recently published Government Plan says:

An initial long list of ten emerging options were developed and three key themes emerged as preferred for further development, testing, and appraisal:

1. Conference, Leisure and Community The potential to include large conference, events, hotel, casino and leisure facilities.

2. Botanical Gardens and Heritage Place making and meaningful uses for a botanical ‘Tivoli Gardens’ type of development.

3. Sports Village Redevelop the existing provision with the potential for a 50m pool and associated facilities.

-Proposed Government Plan 2020-2023

Two contracts will be offered to help revitalise Fort Regent, with Deputy Hugh Raymond hoping to provide a significant update on the Fort's future in the autumn.