Back to the future? Plan to make Telephone House "flagship" store

Monday 28 August 2023

JT is hoping to give its iconic Art Deco-style Telephone House a "new lease of life" by turning it into an "exciting new customer experience-style store", which it hopes will help regenerate the surrounding area.

Opened in 1926 at Minden Place to house the new Central Telephone Exchange, Telephone House was one of the earliest purpose-built Jersey Telecom buildings in Jersey.

Later, it became JT's main retail outlet, but closed in 2006, and the ground floor was used as an office space for staff.

The telecoms company has now applied for planning permission to make the ground floor a store once again, involving the replacement of 17 windows, and the addition of a new shopfront with automatic entrance doors.

If the plans are approved, the existing canopy over shopfront entrance would also be removed and the exterior would be refurbished.

Documents submitted by the Elliot Design Partnership for JT explain that the exterior of the building – a "good example" of Art Deco architecture – is listed.

Pictured: The building is based at Minden Place.

Given the wider Minden Place area "has recently undergone quite a dramatic change with the development of the new brick residential and retail building opposite Telephone House" and that more redevelopment of the north of town is underway, the architects state that it seems an "opportune time for the building to be given a new lease of life".

A refurbishment of the building would "not only provide the area with a renewed historic building", the architects said, but also give JT a "flagship hub in the centre of town".

They also explain: "As much of the internal exchange infrastructure within the building is now obsolete, JT have been able to bring the space back into use for office staff thereby freeing up space on the ground floor of the building. JT are subsequently looking to bring their retail outlet back to their town centre building creating an exciting new customer experience style store which will help to further regenerate the area."

The proposals – which have been graded 'Major' – will be decided at a later date.