14 November 2023
Updated guidance on how much parking should be provided as part of new residential development, together with guidance about the minimum size of rooms and private open space in new homes, has been published by the Minister for Environment, Deputy Jonathan Renouf.
The supplementary planning guidance has been updated following a consultation in March this year, where Islanders had an opportunity to comment on the drafts.
The guidance details the amount of cycle and car parking that should be provided in association with residential development, and revises the minimum space standards for key rooms, storage, and open spaces in new homes.
Planning guidance setting the minimum amount of car parking space was last issued in 1988. This was reflective of a time in the Island when parking standards sought to accommodate growing levels of car ownership and use, and when there were no adopted standards for the provision of parking space for bicycles.
The updated guidance is now in line with today's environment, the response to the climate emergency, and the need to encourage and enable more sustainable forms of travel, such as walking, cycling, and taking the bus; as well as encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles.
Similarly, the planning guidance which sets the minimum space standards for the development of new homes has not been revised comprehensively since 1994. The updated guidance now reflects the increasing need for sufficient space designed to accommodate the number of people who are likely to occupy the dwelling.
The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Jonathan Renouf, said: "I am pleased to be bringing forward this long-awaited revised guidance. Revised standards for the provision of cycle, motorcycle, and car parking space for new residential development; along with revised space standards for new homes means that, together with the new guidance that I published on the minimum density of development earlier in the year, we have a whole new suite of updated planning guidance.
"This will not only help support us in the delivery of new homes needed, but also ensures we are creating better places to live, by setting standards for dwellings that will be durable and flexible, and that meet Islanders' changing needs.
"The focus of this guidance is to ensure we have high quality, affordable residential accommodation in the Island. Given our desire to increase walking, cycling and bus use, I have sought to generally reduce the minimum amount of car parking space that developers are required to provide, while still recognising the need for cars for families, and for people with mobility issues. I have also established standards for cycle parking provision."
Now that this suite of new guidance has been revised and issued, these new standards will inform work on the development briefs for the affordable housing sites that have been rezoned in the bridging Island Plan. This is expected to be issued shortly.
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