Civic heads in Jersey met their counterparts in the Island’s capital during a two day visit to Douglas last week.  

Simon Crowcroft, Connétable de St Hélier (Head of the Parish); Parish Secretary Alison Roberts and Town Centre Manager, Connor Burgher, represented St Helier, which is the main town and capital in Jersey, as well as its commercial and residential centre.  

The delegates were officially welcomed at City Hall by senior officers from Douglas City Council, as well as the Mayor, Natalie Byron-Teare, and Council Leader Claire Wells.  

During the trip, they also embarked on a walking tour comprising parts of Douglas City Centre, Douglas Promenade and visited the Island’s Eastern Civic Amenity Site, the 1.4-hectare facility which opened 12 months ago at a cost of £3 million.

 
A series of meetings also took place to discuss a range of matters, including redevelopment and regeneration of Douglas, governance and statutory responsibilities, local authority funding and  resources, the mechanics of local authority elections, communication with residents and how  Douglas City Council and the Isle of Man Government work together.  

Jersey has its own democratically-elected Parliament, the States of Jersey Assembly, with 49  elected members, including the 12 Connétables of the Parishes. They are elected for a four-year period with the next election due in 2026.  

The Parish Secretary provides legislative guidance and oversee electrical electoral regulatory and governance processes.  

Delegations from Jersey had travelled to the Isle of Man a number of times over the past decade to examine the Douglas model of local government.  

Councillor Mrs Claire Wells, Leader of the Council, said: ‘It was a pleasure to welcome our guests from St Helier, further strengthening the ties between our two island nations but also hearing  about the day-to-day challenges they face.   

‘As you might expect between two crown dependencies of similar sizes, we have much in common and encounter comparable issues as we commit to serve our ratepayers to the best of our ability across a number of functions and services.

'The visit was planned so they could learn more from us as how the Council is run and I have no doubt both councillors and officers found that exchanging ideas and best practice with some of  our opposite numbers in Jersey was of great value and that those shared experiences will be of  benefit to both organisations going forward.’