Field 145, La Maison du Haut, La Rue Ville es Gazeaux, St. Lawrence: Planning Application (P/2013/0269): Ownership of Land Unknown: Acceptance of Application by Minister

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A decision made 19 August 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-PE-2013-0092			Application Number: P/2013/0269 (If applicable)
Decision Summary Title :	Field 145, La Maison du Haut, La Rue Ville Es Gazeaux, St. Lawrence, Jersey, JE3 1HU		Date of Decision Summary:		15 August 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Principal Planner		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)		Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:		n/a
Written Report Title :	As application no.		Date of Written Report:		15 August 2013
Written Report Author:	Principal Planner		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)		Public
Subject: Field 145, La Maison du Haut, La Rue Ville Es Gazeaux, , St. Lawrence, Jersey, JE3 1HU Realign driveway. Various landscape works.
Decision(s): During the progression of planning application reference P/2013/0269 representations were received from the Parish of St Lawrence which expressed a concern that the person who had signed the application forms as the owner of the land was not actually the owner, and that the real owner was unknown. This situation was then acknowledged as correct by the applicant. Article 9 (3) of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 requires that when an applicant is not the owner of the land an application must be accompanied by a certificate from the owner of the land certifying that the owner approves the application being made. Given the acknowledgement of the applicant, this has evidently not occurred. Article 9 (4) of the same Law accepts that owners may not be able to provide the necessary certification and enables the Minister to accept such an application for consideration if the Minister is satisfied that to do so would be in the public interest. In this instance the Minister has confirmed that it is the public interest to accept the application.
Reason(s) for Decision: After receiving a verbal representation from the applicant, the Minister accepts the ownership of the part of the application site being the existing track (a Chemin de Voisinage) is unknown. The Minister also accepts that the ownership is a historic matter, and that the applicant has made reasonable enquiries which have, to date, failed to establish the identity of the owner. The Minister and applicant understand that notwithstanding any permission (which may / may not be forthcoming following the determination of the application) the ownership situation will still have to be clarified before works can be implemented, and that this is a private matter for the applicant to resolve. It is also generally acknowledged that the ownership situation may never be clarified, and the applicant understands that this is a risk to the ultimate delivery of their proposed development, and that the grant of planning permission (if forthcoming) does not over-ride private rights. In this instance the Minister accepts that putting the application process before the resolution of the ownership is a reasonable approach, which will (if approved) give the applicant the opportunity of a productive conclusion, and therefore be able to invest in the conclusion of the ownership query. The Minister also notes that there is a low level of third-party interest in this matter, and considers that the progression of the application is in the public interest as (if approved) it is a step towards resolving the long-standing ownership question.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Notify Agent, Applicant and all other interested parties
Signature: Deputy R C Duhamel		PLeg / AS Initials		Position: Minister for Planning and Environment
Date Signed:				Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):