Government of Jersey

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A decision made (28/09/2007) regarding: St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier - List as Site of Special Interest.

Subject:	St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier, Jersey
Decision ref:	MD-PE-2007-0234	Exempt clause(s):		None
Type of report:	Written and oral	Report file ref:		HE0489
Person giving report (if oral): Curator of Historic Buildings, Jersey Heritage Trust
Written report – author: Curator of Historic Buildings, Jersey Heritage Trust
Written Report Title: List of Sites of Special Interest: Review of St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier
Decision(s): The Minister for Planning and Environment determined that; A Notice of Intention to List St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier as a Site of Special Interest shall be served on the owner/s of the site.
Reason(s) for decision: The special interests of St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier, as defined in the schedule and relative to the published criteria for selection, justifies its inclusion on the List of Sites of Special Interest in accordance with the provisions and purposes of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 and; It accords with the States Strategic Plan commitment of protecting and sympathetically managing the Island’s built heritage assets.
Action required: The Notice of Intention is to be served in accordance with the requirements of the Law; No sooner than 28 days after the date of the service of the Notice of Intention to List a further report will be brought to the Minister relative to any representations received.
Signature: Minister			Date of Decision:

St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier - List as Site of Special Interest.

List of Sites of Special Interest

Review of St. Thomas' Church, Val Plaisant, St. Helier

This report has been prepared by the Jersey Heritage Trust as part of its responsibility under a Service Level Agreement to provide reports and recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Environment on the registration of historic buildings and sites.

Author of report: Roger Hills BA(Hons) MA DipBldgCons (RICS) IHBC Curator of Historic Buildings

Date of report: 21 August 2007

File ref: HE0489

Relevant interests of the site (see schedule for detail)

St Thomas’ Church was included on the first historic buildings register, published in August 1992. It was confirmed as a pSSI by the Jersey Building Heritage Sub-Committee on 2 September 2002.

St. Thomas' Church is considered to be of special architectural, historical and artistic interest.

The principal Catholic church in Jersey, and one of the finest in the diocese. Built of Brittany granite in the French Gothic style of the thirteenth century. The church is a major St Helier landmark and the lofty interior is vaulted throughout, retaining glass and other furnishings of considerable interest.

Advice received (MRLAG or others)

The Architectural History Practice Limited – funded by English Heritage and the RC diocese of Portsmouth – published a report on St. Thomas' Church in March 2007. The report supports the designation as an SSI and concludes that the church in UK terms, “would be a strong candidate for listing in grade II*”

The special interest of the building was considered by MRLAG at its meeting on 13 August 2007. Members unanimously concurred with the prepared SSI schedule and plan.

JHT recommendation

It is recommended that the Minister for Planning and Environment:

confirm the intention to List St. Thomas' Church, as defined in the attached schedule, as a Site of Special Interest under the provisions of Article 51(2)(b) Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 by virtue of its special interest as described in the same schedule;

approve the serving of the Intention to List Notice in accord with the requirements of the Law

Justification relating to criteria

The special interest of St. Thomas' Church, as defined and assessed relative to the published criteria for selection, justifies its inclusion on the List of Sites of Special Interest in accordance with the provisions and purposes of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002.

Attachments

The Architectural History Practice Limited report, March 2007
SSI schedule & plan
Photographs

Board of Trustees

Chairman: Jurat John de Veulle OBE Vice-Chairman: Philip Le Brocq

Rowland Anthony, Geoffrey Crill, Connétable Simon Crowcroft, Blair Gould, Clive Jones, Deputy Carolyn Labey, Paul Nicolle, Jane Stubbs,

Jonathan Voak