17 April 2007
The Chief Minister, Senator Frank Walker has launched an Island wide consultation on proposals to develop and regenerate St Helier over the next 20 years. It is the result of an in-depth report covering five main areas of town, produced by a group of local and UK consultants.
The report was commissioned by a team of politicians, executive officers and parish officials, know as the ‘Urban Task Force’. It is the result of 13 months of research by planning and urban design consultants ‘EDAW’ who have worked with local partners. Together they held two workshops in June and September last year the results of which have informed the proposals in this report.
Senator Walker commented: “We all have an interest in making St Helier a vibrant and thriving place in which to live and work, and I would personally like to encourage everyone to participate in this consultation. A great deal of work has gone into the report but we need you, the public, to tell us what you think. The Planning department will be holding a series of ‘walking, talking tours’ of the different locations – this is the opportunity for the public to hear the reasoning behind the proposals and, in turn, to have their voices heard.”
The report focuses on the town centre, the area around Colomberie in the east of town, Mont de la Ville (Fort Regent), the Western approach into St Helier and the area around the Town Park. It is based on 10 strategic principles:
1. To consolidate the town centre to create a legible and vibrant shopping heart
2. Integrate the new Waterfront business quarter as part of the town centre
3. Define a new western gateway for the Town
4. Ensure provision of suitable floorspace to cater for the demands of economic growth and diversification
5. Establish a design-led high quality built environment, which showcases its heritage features
6. Rationalise vehicle movement and edge-of-centre car park provision reduce through traffic while supporting economic viability
7. Create a ‘Walkable Town’ – with a network of safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists to help promote modal change in transport choices
8. Create attractive residential areas to support healthy and sustainable communities
9. Establish the Town Park as part of a network of high quality open space; and
10. Renew Fort Regent, ensuring that it is physically and publicly accessible.
Minister for Planning and Environment, Senator Freddie Cohen said: “This is a carefully crafted long-term plan to coordinate St Helier as a single vision. The proposals that EDAW have given us have the potential to maximize the regenerative effects, which is a wonderful opportunity.”
The consultation runs from Tuesday 17 April to Tuesday 12 June 2007. The public are invited to view and comment on the proposals displayed at both the Assembly room at the Town Hall or the Customer Services Centre on the ground floor of Cyril Le Marquand House. Dates for the walking tours of the five locations will be available on the States website, http://www.gov.je/.
Public Consultation documents.
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Notes to Editors:
For further information, please contact:
Senator Frank Walker Tel 440401
Chief Executive Officer, Planning and Environment Paul Nichols Tel 448450
Members of the Urban Task Force are:
Senator Walker
Senator Ozouf
Senator Cohen
Deputy de Faye
Constable Crowcroft
Kevin Keen – Chamber of Commerce
Representative of WEB
Plus senior representatives of the Ministers’ and Constable’s Departments
For more information on EDAW please contact Guy Briggs 0203 009 2100 or visit their website http://www.edaw.co.uk/
The five ‘areas of change’ and the priorities for their development are addressed below:
Town Centre Core
The priority is to define clearly the primary shopping area within the town centre, while at the same time promoting additional retail development at Broad Street, to help to integrate the town centre with future retail development at the Waterfront and Old Harbours. The highway network and parking facilities will be rationalised and improved, with new pedestrian-priority streets and public spaces to improve pedestrian accessibility within the town centre and across the town as a whole.
Eastern Fringe
The Eastern Fringe is likely to lose office space to the new office areas of the Esplanade and Waterfront. The Strategy aims to retain Hill Street and Grenville Street as secondary office locations, while encouraging change of use of poorer quality office / hotel stock to mixed use residential, workshop and studio space. The Strategy also promotes policies to encourage the emergence of the area as an arts, crafts and design quarter. The primary highway network will be rationalised, especially at Francis Street to improve the environment of Colomberie, pedestrian environment will be improved and parks and public spaces integrated into the public realm network.
Mont de la Ville
The most significant obstacle to change and regeneration in this area is the limited accessibility to Fort Regent. The Strategy will improve access to the Fort by delivering new and improved pedestrian routes, will facilitate the development of new facilities for sports, conference and teaching and will exploit the Fort’s landmark and heritage value by introducing new cultural and visitor facilities. The underused green spaces on Mont de la Ville and surrounding areas will be linked and improved.
Western Gateway
The Strategy promotes the development of a new, striking ‘Western Gateway’ for St Helier, by consolidating and improving the green spaces at Peoples Park and Victoria Park and creating a major feature on a new roundabout that will improve the experience for visitors arriving in the town from the airport. This part of town will be promoted for tourist accommodation and associated uses, complemented by the redevelopment of low density buildings and redundant sites for mixed use, commercial or high density housing. The highway network and parking will be improved and rationalised. Parade Gardens will be consolidated, improved and better linked to the wider public realm network.
Northern Areas
Regeneration primarily through residential development is the principal objective in this area, with the development of the new Town Park enhancing the northern areas as a priority. This will be achieved by removing the car parking and replacing this with a multi-storey car park nearby that is better linked both to the primary highway network and to the town centre.
Separate pieces of work are being undertaken for the Old Harbours and Weighbridge, and Waterfront and Esplanade areas, which were not part of EDAW’s brief.
The Old Harbours and Weighbridge
A new public square is to be created on the site of the existing bus station, following the opening of the new transit centre. Plans for this are being developed currently. In the longer term, proposals are being tested to consider the relocation of port and industrial uses from the area around the harbour basins to La Collette. This would allow redevelopment of the existing harbour area for a mixture of uses and extensive upgrading of the Island’s port facilities. A feasibility study is currently underway.
Waterfront and Esplanade
This strategy does not put forward any specific proposals for this area, but endorses existing proposals to revisit the existing master plan for this area. New development in this area should be brought forward according to a master plan that seeks to extend the existing street pattern and character of the town centre, including the undergrounding of the Route de la Liberation. This will offer the potential for this area to emerge as the new business quarter for St Helier, as well as including new residential and commercial leisure uses.
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