03 December 2012
The Minister for Planning and Environment, Deputy Rob Duhamel, has made the following statement regarding the development of the Le Masurier ‘Parkside village’ site:
"I am totally committed to supporting the regeneration and development of Bath Street, as outlined in the States-agreed Island Plan and North of Town Masterplan. Together with my officers, I have been working very closely with the Le Masurier team to clearly set out what is expected in relation to design, parking, transport and housing.
"Following discussion and consultation, an updated development brief for this site (also known as Supplementary Planning Guidance) was forwarded to Le Masurier for their comment. My department has since asked on several occasions to meet Le Masurier to review this latest draft. We would like to clarify any outstanding points and to demonstrate how this updated brief provides a flexible and realistic planning framework that can deliver the much-needed regeneration of a tired, undeveloped and under-used site.
"Given our productive engagement with Le Masurier and the advice and assistance we have provided, I was excited by the prospect of development as I would like something positive to be delivered in this part of town.
"I would still like to meet the Le Masurier team to review their concerns before publishing the revised brief for this site. To date, Le Masurier have not given us any feedback on the updated brief, and their negative public comments appear unclear and unfounded.
"I hope they will agree to a meeting in the next few days. If this does not prove possible I will approach their board of directors as I would like to discuss their intentions, given the amount of time and effort all parties have committed in moving this matter forward.
"The Planning Department has both an enabling and regulatory function. We are committed to working in an open and transparent manner to facilitate new development and to ensure that development is suitable for the Island. We will continue to work with significant organisations to develop detailed planning guidance in the form of development briefs, encouraging and enabling regeneration.
"I very much hope that Le Masurier will continue to engage with the department to enable a viable development which addresses the long-standing stagnation of the Le Masurier owned land and stimulates the regeneration of the area."
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