28 July 2016
The Minister for the Environment has announced a Public Inquiry into the planning application for a new Les Quennevais School in St Brelade.
The Department for Infrastructure has applied to build a new secondary school with associated facilities, parking, landscaping and a sports field on agricultural land south of La Rue Carré in St Brelade (adjacent to Mont à la Brune). The application reference number is P/2016/0870.
The land is in the Green Zone on the 2014 Island Plan, where there is a general presumption against development, and where exceptional reasons are required to justify new buildings.
Deputy Steve Luce has decided the application may be a departure from normal planning policy and is also of sufficient public interest to hold an inquiry.
He described the application for a new school as an important decision for the Island “A new secondary school is a significant investment in the future of Jersey’s education system and I want to be sure that we get this right. Public Inquiries are an excellent way of exploring planning issues in depth – people will be most welcome to come along and give their views.”
Next steps
1) The Minister will appoint an independent planning inspector
2) A website will be set up to allow people to comment on the application
3) A date will be set for the inquiry (likely to be in the autumn)
Link to the planning application
Public inquiry information
A public inquiry is an open and accessible investigation of a planning application. An inquiry is usually held when an application is complex or contentious. It helps provide a deeper understanding of the benefits and disadvantages of the project. The public inquiry is chaired by an independent planning inspector, and often includes a public hearing of one day (or more). The hearing is open to the public to attend. People can also apply to make a verbal submission in person. The inspector reads all submissions and writes a detailed report, with recommendations, to the Minister, who makes the final decision.
A public consultation was held by the Education Department on options for the new site for the school in 2015.
Link to the consultation outcome
gov.je