Agree 'affordable' homes or become a "geriatric reservation"

Tuesday 01 May 2018

Campaigners are vowing to fight on to get more 'affordable' homes built in Jersey, to stop the island becoming a "geriatric reservation."

Constable John Refault, who led a rejected project to build 65 new three-bedroom homes on fields opposite the Sir George Carteret Pub in the heart of St. Peter, admits the term used isn’t nice, but says it’s the reality facing the island if more support isn’t given for young people to buy homes within communities.

He's planning a second planning application for the project, which will be supported by a petition. 

Constable Refault says families who bought homes in St. Peter with parish support years ago, now want to downsize but young families can’t afford to buy their houses as they start at around £500,000 - therefore, the Parish doesn’t benefit from young people joining the community services, including the honorary police.

This includes Hannah Crawford who was one of the rejected scheme's applicants as it was a, “...perfect chance for working families to own their own property,” as they simply can’t afford one without the support of the Parish.

She says they were “shocked and disappointed” when the scheme was rejected, and that disappointment was even more upsetting as she felt the “planning department referred to the applicants as data and statistics, and not as real people and families that are in need of owning a family home.”

Pictured: Hannah and her husband Rob were disappointed that the St. Peter affordable housing scheme was rejected as they hoped it would provide a 'nest egg' for their daughter's future. 

The Environment Minister, Deputy Steve Luce, refused the planning application to build the new houses in the green zone earlier this month, after an Independent Planning Inspector recommended it be rejected due to “substantial and significant conflict” with the Island Plan.

Now Constable John Refault is calling on all islanders who support more affordable housing in Jersey to make their voices heard, as the Independent Planning Inspector said the St. Peter application didn’t prove there was "sufficient justification" to override the provisions of the Island Plan.

Constable Refault told Express that he felt they did demonstrate that by having to close the application list after 240 applicants had signed up for the 65 homes, but he says if islanders now sign up to an island-wide petition set up by Hannah - which has already attracted over 400 signatures - it will give them “greater success than last time."

“It’s not just a St. Peter issue, people need to start shouting out to politicians that we want affordable homes, actually that we ‘need’ affordable homes,” said Constable Refault.

Pictured: The housing development was planned for the fields opposite the Sir George Carteret Pub in St. Peter. (Google Maps)

Hannah agreed: “Other parishes are also planning these schemes which will allow more than 500 islanders to own their dream home. If other plans get rejected like the St. Peter’s development, then it could lead islanders with no other option but to leave the island that they were born or raised. 

“I am totally aware that not everyone is in favour of either the site in St. Peter or the scheme itself. I would like to say that we simply cannot afford to buy a two or three-bedroom house on this island otherwise we would but what other option is there, there is simply nothing.”

Disappointed potential new home owners met last weekend to discuss the Parish’s second planning application, and an email from the Constable went out to those who couldn’t make it saying: “It is imperative that our predicament is not consigned to yesterday’s news and remains high profile till we do get the Planning Permission required, to allow this shared ownership model of purchase to become the norm across all parishes for the benefit of our young families.”