All Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

When you are only three years old, things you’re really excited about seem to take forever to arrive. And Lewis, my youngest son, is a perfect example of this. It seemed to him that he had to wait years to turn four, “Am I four yet Dad? It’s taking so long!” he would sigh. Every day. Since about March.

In the time honoured tradition of ‘all good things come to those who wait’, Lewis finally turned four yesterday. He spent most of the day stretching up on tiptoes to prove how big he had become, whilst proudly parading his new Captain America outfit.

Planning permission for Charing Cross seemed to take a lifetime to come too. But yesterday, finally, come it did.

As the person leading our attempts to find a solution for this challenging site, I mostly felt relieved yesterday, but much like Lewis in his Captain America costume, I was proud too.

It has certainly been a long journey. Around fifteen years. On that twisting and bumpy road we have experienced a range of emotions. Just like Lewis in fact; impatience, frustration, hope, expectation and disappointment were all in there at various times. Crucially though, the constants throughout were determination and belief.

It was a privilege to commend our proposals to the Planning Panel yesterday and, as the leader of our community owned organisation, I presented a scheme that was based on co-operation, consensus and common sense.

Our gratitude goes to The States of Jersey Planning Department, the Jersey Architecture Commission and The National Trust for Jersey, in co-operation with our great professional team. All of whom invested time, effort and compromise to deliver a solution that we are all convinced offers the best possible fit to the competing demands of the site.

In the end, all good things come to those who wait. I think Lewis still believes that, with enough determination and belief that he will one day be bigger than his big brother. Maybe even older too.

I don’t feel the need to manage his expectations right now, as the lessons of self belief, perseverance and determination are great ones to learn…