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Controversial plans to transform the former Nude Dunes site at La Pulente into tourist accommodation and a beach café – which sparked a protest of hundreds of islanders earlier this year – have been recommended for refusal.
In turning down the application, the Planning Department disagreed with the applicant's assertion that the former restaurant – which had previously been put on the market for £3.5m, then later for £2.2m – couldn't be sold, saying it would "likely" attract a "willing buyer" were the price to be dropped.
The Department concluded that community interest would be "better served" by the use of the building as a café or restaurant.
A converted former toilet block purchased for just £100,000, Nude Dunes went bust in November 2023 – just months after opening its doors.
The owner of the building asked Planning for permission for a change of use after failing to find a buyer for the site as a restaurant and submitted plans for a two-bedroom self-catering unit with an attached café and public toilets.
A protest co-ordinated by St Brelade Deputy Montfort Tadier in July saw between 250 and 300 people gather at the beach to “show support for the protection of La Pulente and the wider coastline from privatisation and overdevelopment".
Pictured: Plans for the shuttered Nude Dunes building were submitted earlier this year.
Planning officer Lawrence Davies has since recommended that the application – which also garnered more than 120 public comments – be refused.
Concerns raised by islanders ranged from fears around "creeping" development in the coastal park area to the potential "privatisation" of a site enjoyed by the public.
One commenter also argued that it was "not the job of the planning system to bend policy to compensate for investment decisions that may not have paid off".
The applicant had argued that the premises hadn't sold and said in the application that their plans were "to make the premises economically viable".
But islanders' concerns appear to have been heard by the Department, which stated that "it is not role of government – and, in this instance, the planning system – to mitigate the financial losses of a private investor".
Pictured: The plans were the subject of a protest that saw hundreds of islanders gather at the site.
It added: "From the Department’s perspective, it seems likely that there would be a willing buyer for the premises, were the asking price to be reduced, and on that basis, we have to conclude that the premises are not redundant.
"The Department’s position is that the community interest is better served by the use of the building as a café or restaurant which is widely available to the general public."
It went on to say that "there would not be an overall benefit to the community which demonstrably outweighs the adverse effects of loss of the restaurant".
"It is also difficult to see how the scheme delivers any meaningful environmental improvement," the Department added.
Pictured: The plans submitted for the site have been recommended for refusal.
Summarising the reasons behind his recommendation, Mr Davies said that the applicant had failed to demonstrate that there was no market demand "for the continued use of the premises for its existing daytime and evening economy use".
"A discontinuation of the current use, leading to the establishment of a new use which would be less widely available to the general public, is not considered to be in the wider community interest," he added.
He also concluded that the conversion of the existing building, which is located within a Protected Coastal Zone, is not supported by the Bridging Island Plan.
The former toilet block at La Pulente was sold off by the States for around £100,000 in 2014.
It was purchased by Nude Food, run by local couple Lucy Morris and Jackson Lowe, in January 2023. After a massive redevelopment of the site, it opened as a restaurant in June 2023.
A popular nearby kiosk, The Hideout, used to be based close to the toilets but moved further down the slipway access road when work to redevelop the building began.
The kiosk was forced to close in October 2023 after a battle with the parish of St Brelade over its lease.
At the time, Constable Mike Jackson said that the Hideout was only meant to operate until the Nude Dunes restaurant opened.
The owner of the café, Karl Sutton, described his dispute with the parish as a "David and Goliath battle" which he did not want to repeat.
But less than six months after opening, Nude Food ceased trading, meaning both of its restaurants – at La Pulente and St Aubin – were forced to close.
The La Pulente site went on the market for £3.5 million last year, until Le Rossignol Estates more recently started exclusively marketing the site at the significantly lower sum of £2.2 million.
With the latest plans now recommended for refusal, the matter is due to come before the Planning Committee for a final decision on Thursday 5 December.
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