Luxury homeowner denied permission to build extra house for two staff

Monday 26 February 2018

The owner of a five-bedroom manor has been told that he cannot build an extra house for his housekeeper and gardener to live on site, because there’s already enough room for them inside his luxury home.

But Gerald Snyman of St. Lawrence-based Malorey House – a multi-million property near the War Tunnels – is now appealing that decision.

He had originally put in a planning application for separate one-bedroom accommodation to complement the traditional property, which features extensive garages to house a Morris Minor collection, in October last year.

According to MS Planning, who designed the employees’ prospective home, the proposals were supported by Locate Jersey, the States body responsible for attracting high-net-worth residents to the island.

Tucked away on Les Charrières Malorey, the proposed site lies in a Green Zone – an area with an automatic presumption against new development in the island’s countryside.

Pictured: Les Charrières Malorey in St. Lawrence, the road on which the property is located. (Google Maps)

Architects argued in their proposals that this Island Plan rule should be waived in accordance with a clause that allows accommodation to be built for “key workers”.

“The accommodation will be for a couple, a housekeeper and a gardener, in accommodation that is separate from the main house… It is therefore pertinent to note that the preamble to the [Green Zone] policy recognises that the provision of accommodation to house staff is a key issue for other parts of the island’s economy as well as for the agriculture and tourism industries,” they wrote in their design statement to Planning. 

Denying that the build was merely a “speculative development for financial gain”, the owners were said to be willing to enter a legally binding agreement to ensure that the staff accommodation could not be sold separately to Malorey House.

They added that the development would have “no impact on the landscape character of the area”, adding that it would not be visible to neighbours and would incorporate extra trees, hedgerows, and a green roof to make it blend in even further.

Pictured: An overhead view of the area. (Google Maps)

But their arguments were not enough to satisfy Planning Officer George Urban, who refused the application. 

In a report detailing his refusal, he explained that exceptions to the green zone policy could only be enforced if the accommodation was for staff of Jersey’s key industries of agriculture and tourism, rather than domestic staff for private residences. 

“Whilst it would be advantageous for domestic staff to live on site, it is considered that there is no overriding need to do so… The existing dwelling would provide sufficient room to accommodate an additional bedroom,” he commented. 

An official appeal against the Planning decision has now been lodged with the Judicial Greffier.

Lead photo: Torange.biz