23 July 2015
The final stage of the regeneration of social housing at Le Squez, St Clement will begin shortly following approval from the Planning Applications Committee.
Le Squez phase 4 will see the existing buildings demolished and 154 new homes built in their place. The accommodation will be a mix of one, two and three bedroom affordable flats with community facilities, car parking and a community room for residents.
The new scheme will create an environment which will be generally free of surface car parking, where pedestrians and cyclists take priority in the streets and courtyards.
A new path will connect residents directly to FB Fields and Samarès School and all roads running through the estate will be closed to traffic. The scheme will link to the Eastern Cycle Route.
The Jersey Architecture Commission described the scheme as an “exemplary work providing new residential accommodation of the highest quality… to the enormous benefit of the future residents”.
Farm buildings to be converted
The Planning Applications Committee also approved plans for 18 new homes on a former farm in St Saviour. Existing outbuildings and staff accommodation at Highstead on La Rue du Tapon, St Saviour will be demolished or converted to develop a mix of homes.
Under existing Green Zone policy, agricultural buildings should stay in use for employment where possible. Owners are expected to advertise to attract new tenants. The existing barns and agricultural shed at Highstead have been marketed without success so the department considered that the conversion of barns to homes is acceptable as long as, in line with Green Zone policy, there are environmental benefits to the conversion.
Plans agreed by the committee will see the refurbishment and sympathetic extension of high quality existing buildings on site, including the main listed house and the original farmhouse. An unsightly modern agricultural shed will be removed. The plans include safety improvements to nearby roads funded by the applicant.
Parish community scheme rejected
Plans for a new 60 place nursery and 28 new homes for the over-55s on Upper Clarendon Road have been turned down by the Panel.
The Parish of St Helier submitted a second set of proposals for new community facilities on the site of its former four-storey care home, Maison du Ville, which closed in 2013. Plans for a new-five storey building included a restaurant and in-house medical support.
The Jersey Architecture Commission raised concerns about an earlier application but the department considered the current plans had addressed these and other issues relating to the possible impact of the new development on neighbours, parking and traffic and indicated the revised proposals were in line with the policies of the Island Plan.
The committee took a different view and considered that the impact of the scheme, particularly on local residents, was too great. Members expressed concerns about its effect on the setting of listed buildings nearby and insufficient parking spaces.
Recycling centre
Plans for a new modern waste management centre at La Collette have moved a step closer with the approval of proposals for metal and compost recycling facilities at the site.
The Transport and Technical Services Department wants to move all recycling to a single purpose-built modern area at La Collette, with five recycling facilities for different types of waste. La Collette is designated as a site for solid waste management in the 2011 Island Plan.
Following approval for the current applications today, the route is clear for all composting and metal recycling to be located at La Collette instead of Bellozane Valley.
Sierra Madre Villas, Havre des Pas
Plans for a new apartment block at Havre des Pas were rejected after the Planning Applications Committee echoed concerns by residents.
43 people objected to proposals to replace two buildings on the seafront; 1 and 2 Sierra Madre Villas and replace them with eight new homes. Neighbours said the development would unreasonably harm the ‘residential amenity’ of residents.
A report on the application noted that the new building would have been larger and higher than the existing pair of houses, but that its traditional design would fit comfortably within the general street scene. It is also in a location where the Island Plan strongly encourages new residential development.
However committee members expressed concerns about the lack of visitor car parking and general overdevelopment of the site.
gov.je