Have your say at inquiry into controversial St Ouen development

Friday 08 April 2016

You have until the end of the day to have your say on controversial plans to knock down a large greenhouse in rural St Ouen and build houses before the Environment Minister decides whether it should go ahead.

A company chaired by former Chief Minister Frank Walker wants to demolish a glasshouse in Grantez which overlooks St Ouen’s Bay and is close to where the National Trust holds its Sunset Concerts, and replace it with 13 homes.

Environment Minister Steve Luce has called for a public inquiry on Tuesday 10 May because the application is not in line with the States-approved Island Plan and will decide after that whether the development will go ahead.

Mr Walker is non-executive chairman of Jersey Choice, which also trades as Jersey Plants Direct. The business exports plants and shrubs to the UK. It has used the glasshouse for a number of years but now faces financial ruin after the removal of a tax loophole that allowed goods imported into the UK to avoid VAT.

The company submitted plans last December to build 13 homes and return over a third of the site to nature.

Speaking to Bailiwick Express last year Mr Walker said: “We want to develop the greenhouse for a simple reason – the loss of low-value consignment relief hit Jersey Choice very severely. It has suffered significant losses and the owner has had to put in a substantial amount of cash into the business to keep it afloat.

“Our only motivation is to keep the company alive and in Jersey. The money will be invested in the company’s main nursery in St Martin. If the company does shut down or the business moves abroad, the greenhouses will decay and become an eyesore.

But many residents in St Ouen said they were vehemently opposed to the scheme when they found out about it last year, arguing that it would destroy a quiet corner of Jersey.

The majority who attended a meeting called by Jersey Choice last year thought the development was just too big for the area and that the infrastructure wouldn't be able to cope with something of this size.

After that meeting Stephen Le Quesne, who lives close to the greenhouse, said the developers had grossly underestimated the amount of traffic that the site will generate and that the States should be supporting farming rather than allowing houses to be built on perfectly good land.

Independent Inspector Philip Staddon is coming over from the UK to hold the inquiry which will open at 10 am on Tuesday 10 May at St Paul's Centre in Dumaresq Street. It's expected to last two days.

If you want to submit a comment on the proposals, you can email it to progofficer@aol.com.