Fortress Attractions Ltd (FAL) will provide and manage leisure activities at the Northern Defences following the conclusion of discussions with the Government.
This followed a public Expression of Interest (EOI) process which closed on 26 January 2024. Government has said that a total of four submissions were received and after considering these internally, it agreed to enter into a process of further negotiation with FAL as ‘preferred bidders’, on the advice of an expert panel.
'In their submission, FAL included all the requirements set out in the EOI advert and addressed how the land should be managed, which is consistent with HMGoG’s overall vision for the Northern Defences. Fundamentally, the Northern Defences will remain under HMGoG ownership, but FAL will manage and maintain the land and all facilities to be provided within it.'
Under the proposal, FAL will invest approximately £4 million to create a first class visitor attraction, employ some 20 people, and pay a cash premium of £100,000 to secure a facilities management agreement with HMGoG for a term of 20 years. That agreement is subject to termination for non- performance under a number of prescribed circumstances.
The visitor attraction will also include the provision and management of leisure activities such as heritage tours, zip-lines, rock and wall climbing, archery and children’s play inflatables. Crucially, although managed by FAL, a large part of the land will remain accessible to the general public at all times with picnic tables and calisthenics equipment for public use and enjoyment.
Under the facilities management agreement, FAL is obliged to deliver gradual operational services milestones within an initial period of 18 months, which will be closely overseen by HMGoG. Additionally, links to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve and Tower of Homage will be facilitated and the project will evolve and develop in phases throughout the term. Under the agreement, and after the initial 18 months, FAL will pay to HMGoG the higher of; 25% of the profits generated from ticket and merchandising sales, or an annual fee of £50,000/annum (up to 30th June 2027), which fee shall increase to £100,000/annum after July 2027.
Separately, FAL will be granted a lease to refurbish, at their expense, the former Landport Cottage for use as a ticket office and interpretation centre for the Northern Defences. The lease is tied to the facilities management agreement and can be terminated in the event that the agreement is itself rescinded or terminated.
In a statement, Government explains that the Northern Defences were first subject to an Expression of Interest process in 2013, followed by others in 2020 and 2022 with a number of preferred bidders withdrawing their interest, expecting a lease over the actual historic site, not committing any funding or investment of their own, asking HMGoG to fund all works and operations, demanding HMGoG pay them a fee to manage it and not offering a cash premium payment. 'The consideration of different proposals, which proved unacceptable to the Government for such reasons, explains the time it has taken to arrive at an agreement since 2013.'
In the meantime, the site clearance and restoration works have continued for over a decade led by the Office of the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia, executed professionally by Project Director Carl Viagas, who will continue to oversee the next phase on the Government’s behalf, coupled with the expertise of Alfred Brittenden at LPS. In an administrative sense, the Northern Defences now passes on to the Minister for the Environment Professor John Cortes, who has responsibility for the tourist sites, and the Minister for Tourism Christian Santos in respect of the marketing of this unique, historic new product.
