Parish opposes Government HQ plans

Monday 28 June 2021

St. Helier's Roads Committee wants the new Government HQ planning application to be thrown out over concerns about major changes to the Parade - including bollards to close a section of road at peak times, lack of car park or cycling routes, and "elitist" plans to reserve the only charging parking spaces for senior managers.

Procureur Geraint Jennings, who is on the Parish's Roads Committee, said the proposed changes to the Parade came as a “surprise” to the Committee when Dandara submitted its application to demolish 39-year-old Cyril Le Marquand House with a seven-storey office block.

In addition to creating the 12,320sqm building, Dandara's plans include the provision of eight stackable electric car parking spaces accessible from Union Street for the use of senior staff only, six motorcycle parking bays on the Parade and 174 cycle spaces – comprising 124 for long stays and 50 for visitors.

Meanwhile, disabled parking would be accommodated within the on-street parking located on the Parade.

Mr Jennings explained that problems within the application were discussed at a recent meeting of the Roads Committee. While they have no issue with the development of the building itself, they are concerned about the proposed changes to the roadway and the parking on The Parade, which is a Parish road.

Pictured: The development will only include 174 bike spaces.

It is proposed that The Parade be converted into a two-way with retractable bollards installed at the junction with Union Street to close the section of the road at peak times and which could be lowered in emergency situations and for vehicles to access the disabled parking bays. The bollards would also be left down in the evening and overnight for access.

In their Design and Access Statement, Dandara wrote that the bollards would help control traffic entering the Parade from the south end of Saville Street, which they described as a “rat run”. However, traffic moves from Union Street onto the Parade and then onto Saville Street.

As a result of the proposed changes, parallel parking on The Parade would be removed and the kerb at the junction with Cannon Street would have to be realigned to allow drivers to turn left from Gloucester Street to the Parade. 

The plans also include proposals to widen Union Street, reducing the carriageway to six metres.

Pictured: The plans also include proposals to widen Union Street, reducing the carriageway to six meters.

Mr Jennings said that, despite the changes affecting a parish road, neither the Parish nor the Roads Committee had been consulted on the plans.

“There were discussions about the development of the building and the motorcycle parking being relocated not for a permanent change in the road,” he said

“It’s not properly done to have a Planning Application go for a building and a parish road to be included with major changes without consultation with the parish. We did not agree for the Planning Application to go forward.”

He said the changes would reduce the number of spaces available in the Cheapside Resident Parking Zone as well as reducing the space available for motorbikes.

Mr Jennings also called the proposals to reserve the only eight charging spaces for senior managers as “elitist” and questioned why an underground car park had not been included in the plans. 

He also noted the absence of a clear cycling or walking route in the scheme.

“There is no extra provision,” he said. “If they cannot drive, they will be encouraged to cycle or walk, yet the plans are not incorporating cycling or walking routes.” 

Pictured: Mr Jennings questioned how Government employees who cycle would access the new hospital form the headquarters.

With the new hospital due to be built at Overdale, Mr Jennings also questioned how Government employees would get to the facility by bike, given the absence of a cycling route. 

“You can spend as many millions as you want on a road, but if you have not spent any money to make sure people can get there, some of the priorities are not in the right order,” he said.

“They are spending a lot of money widening a road that many cyclists will not be able to cycle up. I am looking for the logic and sense in what they are doing, they are working within a particular area but how cyclists get to the edge of that is no concern of the team.”

Silvio Alves, the Head of Infrastructure for the Parish, wrote to the Planning Department highlighting the same issues and urging them to refuse planning permission.

“The proposal falls short of what is expected to be provided in a public building, there has been very poor consultation on the proposals,” he wrote. “There is lost opportunity in easily addressing the issue of parking by creating an underground car park.”

He also noted his disappointment at the fact “no effort” had been made to consider installing a bus stop directly outside the new building, suggesting there was scope to create a bus stop layby with a shelter.

Mr Jennings highlighted that the lack of consultation was part of a bigger problem, noting that the work of the Roads Committee had been hampered by delays in publishing infrastructure policies. 

“We keep going back to the same issues because there is no constructive relationship between the Minister and the other authorities, the parish roads committee,” he said. “If both parties were working together, everyone would be better off.”