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A Deputy, who successfully campaigned to stop dairy fields from being built on, is calling for more agricultural fields to be saved from development under the controversial three-year Island Plan.
St. Helier's Mary Le Hegarat - whose amendment calling for fields off Grande Route de St. Jean to be withdrawn from the 'Bridging' Island Plan has been accepted by the Environment Minister – is also calling for two fields in St. Ouen and another in her home parish to be kept in the green zone.
The St. Helier representative, who comes from a farming family, says that the loss of two fields off Route de la Croute in St. Ouen would have a significant impact, both on the dairy and potato industries.
One of the fields, O623 is owned by the parish through its Ecclesiastical Committee and is currently used by a nearby dairy farmer. The larger field, 0622, is regularly farmed.
Both scored 2 out of 5 on the ‘Existing Use’ scale under the Government’s ‘call for sites’ exercise.
Pictured: The fields in St. Ouen are off Route du Marais (Hydrangea Avenue) to the west of the parish hall.
Explaining why she was seeking the fields’ removal from the Environment Minister’s ‘Plan A’ list for affordable homes, Deputy Le Hegarat said: “Dairy farming is a source of income and jobs, and the milk itself offers better nutritional values than that of other dairy breeds.
“The importance of ensuring that the Island continues to support and maintain levels of dairy farming cannot be understated. Jersey’s dairy farmers have been described as ‘custodians of the countryside’, with the pride, knowledge and expertise to maintain the land. A loss of dairy fields would in turn mean a loss of dairy herds.”
Concerning the next-door O622, the Deputy said: “This field was the subject of a planning inquiry in 2013, which resulted in the planning inspector refusing permission to develop on the land.
“The inquiry raised issues such as the fact that the loss of agricultural land could have a serious detrimental impact on a marsh adjacent to field 622, and that Jersey Heritage believes the field to be of historic interest.
“These two points which helped to prevent development on this land in 2013 are highly likely to still be relevant and influential in continuing to maintain the land today and well into the future.”
The fields were added to the Minister’s first-choice list after independent planning inspectors recommended their inclusion.
Developing them has the backing of parish Constable Richard Buchanan who previously told Express that St. Ouen was prepared “to do its bit” to provide affordable homes.
If approved, up to 77 houses could be built on the fields.
Deputy Le Hegarat is also asking that a field at La Pouquelaye, behind the old CTV studios, is removed from the plan.
Meanwhile St John Constable Andy Jéhan is making another attempt to add two non-farmed fields to the affordable homes list, to be used for older parishioners and first-time buyers. These are off Rue de Cimetière and Route du Nord.
And St. Saviour Constable Sadie Le Sueur-Rennard has formally proposed removing a field on the corner of Bel Air Lane and Deloraine Road from the affordable housing list.
The field was a late addition to the ‘Plan A’ list having only been accepted by the Minister last month, after it was recommended for inclusion by the independent planning inspectors.
Pictured: Field S341 is on the corner of Bel Air Lane and Deloraine Road.
The Constable has been vocal in the States Assembly in her opposition to more building in St. Saviour and is also opposing homes being built on fields opposite the former JEP headquarters and in a field of Princes Tower Road.
In her opposition to building on field ‘S341’ near Bel Air Lane, which is opposite the entrance to Grainville School, the Constable writes: “While the Parish is fully aware of the pressures of the housing market and the subsequent need for housing island-wide, it is considered that the Parish is unable to accommodate any more development.
“One of the over-riding concerns relates to the potential increase in traffic in a parish which has numerous schools and where the traffic is already extremely heavy at certain times of the day.
“Any additional development will undoubtedly compound the existing traffic congestion problems leading to increased safety concerns for vulnerable road users.
“Schoolchildren will be among those most seriously affected as there are minimal dedicated walking and cycling routes to and from the schools. While pavements can be found on the major roads, albeit not on minor roads, these pavements are not overly wide and at times, due to foot traffic, become overcrowded.”
The Bridging Island Plan is due to be debated from 14 March, with two weeks set aside. It has attracted the highest number of amendments ever for a single States proposition.
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