31 January 2017
Permission has been granted for 12 new homes to be built on the Living Legend site in St Peter’s Valley.
Dandara Jersey Ltd applied (P/2016/0712) to demolish the former tourist attraction on La Rue du Petit Aleval and build nine four-bedroom and three six-bedroom homes. The WWII bunker on the site, which is listed and protected, will remain.
The site is in the Green Zone where the justification for development has to be strong. The owners also had to demonstrate it wasn’t viable to keep the site in employment use.
A planning report said the proposed new development would have less impact on the environment than the current building; it would be smaller scale, with more open space, there would be less traffic to and from the area, and the design was more sensitive to its landscape.
The Planning Committee, which agreed the plans at its meeting yesterday, praised the applicant for carrying out extensive consultation with local residents before drawing up final plans and said it was a good approach that others could learn from.
Under a planning obligation agreement, the developers will contribute approximately £40,000 towards improving cycling facilities for the area.
Plans for restaurant in former St Aubin bank agreed
The Committee also approved an application (P/2016/1197) to turn the former NatWest Bank at St Aubin into a restaurant.
The site – in a prominent position in the heart of St Aubin’s Village – used to be the location for a market hall in the 19th century and is now a grade 4 listed building.
The Environment Department received five objections which mainly focused on parking and traffic issues. 27 people expressed support for the application.
A departmental assessment of the application recommended it be approved. It states that the conversion from a bank to a restaurant retains the listed building; ensures the building is still used for employment; provides a new business venture in a popular tourist destination; and will add to the vibrancy and uniqueness of the popular village.
Catholic church
The former Our Lady Of The Assumption Cathoiic Church will be demolished and two reirement homes built in its place following Planning Committee approval (P/2016/1198).
Previous applications have been rejected, but the departmental report said this was a more modest scheme that was suitable for its setting on Gorey Village Main Road.
Blue Fountain
An application to turn a restaurant on the Five Mile Road into homes was again turned down by the Planning Committee following a request to review the application.
The owners of the former Blue Fountain, on La Route de la Pulente, St Brelade, asked the Committee to reconsider its previous refusal for outline permission (PP/2016/1244) to demolish the two-storey building and build two apartments.
The planning report said the proposed development was too large for its location in the coastal national park, where no development of any sort is allowed except in exceptional circumstances.
Warm up for horses
Part of a field on La Route du Francfief, St Brelade will become an all-weather warm up arena for horses doing dressage following the Planning Committee’s agreement (P/2016/1401).
A number of residents had expressed concerns about the possible harm to a peaceful rural area, and disruption to surrounding homes from the new facility.
The applicants have given assurances that it will be a ‘virtually-silent’ warm-up area with no shouting from competitors or instructors tolerated and no more than 8-10 uses of the site per year.
The committee added a further condition limiting the times of operation to 9 am to 5 pm on competition days, with all arrivals and departures to take place within those hours.
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