25 June 2010
The Minister for Planning and Environment, Senator Freddie Cohen, will review the draft Island Plan following the initial public response to consultation. Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment on the changes that he intends to make.
The draft Island Plan was published as a white paper on 25 September 2009 and the consultation period was extended from an initial period of 3 months to 6 months, ending on 31 March 2010.
The consultation generated over 1100 comments from approximately 200 individuals and organisations and the Minister has now considered and responded to all of the comments. The Minister intends to make a number of proposed changes to the plan that will be put forward to the inspectors as part of the Examination in Public.
The Minister said “I am very pleased with the public level of response to the draft Island Plan and I would like to thank all those who have taken the time and trouble to respond to this important planning document. In the light of the comments I have looked at several key policy areas and I am recommending a number of amendments to the plan that will be considered by the inspectors in the public examination process alongside the original document.
“In the interests of openness and fairness, it is important that people have a chance to look at the changes that I intend to make” said Senator Cohen. “It is only right that where people may have not wished to make a comment on the original draft Plan that they be given a chance to comment on any proposed amendments to it.”
The Minister has also announced that the timetable for the Examination in Public into the draft plan has been rescheduled, to allow people sufficient time to comment on his intended changes. The Examination in Public will now commence on 21 September and is likely to last for just less than 3 weeks, ending on 7 October 2010.
The format and content of the Examination in Public, which is being conducted by independent Planning inspectors Mr Chris Shepley CBE and Mr Alan Langton, is already taking shape and a draft list of topics and participants has been published.
Draft Island Plan - examination in public
Hard copies of the Island Plan are available for at the Planning Offices, South Hill and the States Book Shop, Morier House, St. Helier.
The deadline for the submission of further comments is Monday 19 July 2010. These should be submitted preferably by email to the Programme Officer for the EiP at
progofficer@aol.com or in writing to Mrs Helen Wilson, c/o Planning and Environment Department, South Hill, St Helier.
gov.je