Digital Greenhouse closure 'deeply disappointing'

An organisation that represents businesses said it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision to close a government-funded centre for digital and creative start-ups.

The States of Guernsey announced the Digital Greenhouse, which opened in 2016, would close in its current form unless a private company or charity came forward to run it.

This comes after former Commerce and Employment Minister Kevin Stewart, who helped create the centre, said the decision was "absolutely crazy".

Guernsey Chamber of Commerce released a statement on Tuesday saying it was "extremely concerned about the vacuum" the decision would leave.

It said it had raised concerns for some time about the "lack of support for the non-finance business community in Guernsey".

"Finance is vital to our economy, but Guernsey is more than the finance industry," it said.

It added a "thriving wider business community" was mutually dependent on the finance sector.

"Much of the economic development workplan simply cannot be delivered without the Digital Greenhouse or an equivalent mechanism in place.

"Businesses still need somewhere to turn for innovation support and diversification."

The chamber added it was also concerned about how the decision was based on saving the centre's annual cost of about £450,000.

"At the same time as this closure, government has found an additional £1m for Guernsey Finance (taking the total to £3.5m) and created a new senior finance concierge role," it said.

"We understand the importance of the finance industry to our economy, but the island cannot afford to put all its eggs in what is a shrinking basket."

The chamber said it called on government to urgently set out how the functions currently delivered by the Digital Greenhouse would be maintained, and to commit to a proper, funded mechanism for supporting the whole of Guernsey's business community.

Marc Lainé, Vice-President of Economic Development, said the private and voluntary sector was in a better place than the States of Guernsey to drive forward initiatives on innovation.

"We believe innovation development is now best served by operators that can act with the agility and commercial insight that a private or community-led body brings."

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