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The Council of Ministers’ priorities for the next four years, set out in the Common Strategic Policy include maintaining financial stability, restoring competitiveness, targeted action on the cost of living and investing in Jersey.
Building the homes and investing in the infrastructure which Jersey needs is essential for the future.
Housing Minister, Deputy Malcolm Ferey, explores the topic in this blog, with input from colleagues in the Infrastructure Department.
Having a good home, reliable infrastructure and well-maintained public spaces are things that affect our lives every day.
They shape where we live, how we travel, where our children learn and, ultimately, how we feel about Jersey as a place to call home.
They are also closely connected. We cannot deliver the homes Jersey needs without the drainage, water, roads and other infrastructure to support them. Equally, investment in infrastructure helps us create better places and unlock future opportunities.
Our proposed Common Strategic Policy 2026-2030 brings these ambitions together. One of the Council of Ministers’ key priorities is to provide more homes and upgrade the core infrastructure that Islanders rely on, as part of our wider commitment to Invest in Jersey.
More homes, and the right homes
Affordable, suitable housing remains one of Jersey’s biggest challenges. Young people and families can struggle to find homes that meet their needs and which are within financial reach, while our changing population means we also need more choice for older Islanders and different types of households.
Our focus cannot simply be on the number of homes built.
We need family homes, properties to buy and rent, homes for key workers, and options that allow Islanders to move into accommodation that better suits them as their circumstances change. Previous work through Investing in Jersey has also highlighted the importance of delivering more two, three and four-bedroom homes, alongside the one and two-bedroom properties which remain an important part of Jersey’s housing stock.
The infrastructure that makes housing possible
Every new home depends upon infrastructure.
Clean water needs to reach it. Wastewater needs to leave it. People need to be able to travel safely to work and school. Communities need access to public services and spaces.
Some of these systems have served Jersey for many decades, but parts are ageing, approaching capacity and facing greater pressures. For this reason, we are committed to upgrading drainage, extending the mains water system to enable housing development, renewing core infrastructure and continuing investment in flood protection and sea defences.
This is not an abstract challenge. The work already taking place on Jersey’s Northern Sewer Network shows why investment matters. The project is replacing ageing pipes installed in the mid-1970s and delivering around 2.5 kilometres of new sewer, increasing capacity in a part of the network that is already under significant pressure. The upgraded network will serve hundreds of properties while also supporting future housing.
It is a good example of infrastructure investment that Islanders may not always see, but which is fundamental to how our Island functions.
Creating places, not simply developments
Good infrastructure is also about what happens above ground.
When we step outside our homes, we use the streets, squares, parks, paths and other spaces that collectively form our public realm. These places influence how we move around, meet each other and experience our communities.
That is why our investment in housing and infrastructure connects directly with another priority in the CSP: improving the public realm, community spaces and sports facilities across the Island.
We can already see this happening in St Helier. Previous improvements to New Cut and King Street have been followed by work on Broad Street, where the programme has combined changes above ground with upgrades to drainage and water infrastructure below it. The Broad Street project has included granite paving, planting, street furniture and lighting, alongside a new drainage system and replacement water mains.
This joined-up approach is important. If we coordinate investment properly, roadworks and infrastructure renewal can become opportunities to improve the places people experience every day rather than treating each project in isolation.
To support this into the future, we will be progressing a regeneration strategy to coordinate investment in public spaces, streets, housing, community facilities, education and youth provision. This will give a clearer framework for delivery, support the Island Plan, and encourage private investment to make our town a better place to live and visit.
Resilience for future generations
As an Island, our infrastructure investment must also be about resilience.
Our unique coastline is essential to Jersey’s identity, whilst our sea defences also protect homes, businesses and public spaces. Earlier Government work has highlighted the importance of renewing and reinforcing those defences, and we are committing to see through the delivery of upgrading flood protection systems and sea defences, to protect our Island into the future.
We must also look after the public buildings on which essential services depend. The CSP commits our focus on upgrading and replacing public buildings and education facilities as part of the same long-term approach to investment.
Moving from short-term fixes to long-term investment
None of this can be achieved through isolated projects or one Government term.
Through Investing in Jersey, we are taking a longer-term approach to roads, drainage, water networks, homes, education, town regeneration and the public realm. A key part of this is building the Jersey Capital Investment Fund and a long-term capital plan so that infrastructure, property and land investment can be properly prioritised.
The principle is straightforward.
We need to invest before infrastructure reaches the point of failure. We need to plan housing alongside the services and networks that make development possible. And we need to ensure that when public money is invested, we look for opportunities to improve communities as well as individual assets.
Ultimately, this is about the Jersey we want future generations to inherit: an Island where people can find a home, where essential infrastructure works reliably, where communities are well connected and where our public assets are cared for.
There will be disruption as we renew infrastructure that has served Jersey for decades. But failing to invest will simply pass a bigger problem, and a bigger bill, to the next generation.
Our commitment through the Common Strategic Policy is therefore to move forward with confidence: providing more homes, renewing the infrastructure on which they depend and investing in Jersey for the long term.