Planning enforcement notice issued over access to St Lawrence field

Sunday 29 October 2023

A planning enforcement notice has been issued over the creation of an access route into a field in St Lawrence.

It concerns a field off Le Chemin des Montagnes in St Lawrence, which branches off from Charrières de Malorey – the hill which runs above the War Tunnels.

The notice has been issued by a senior officer in Development Control because it is appears that a "hedgerow, banque or other feature" has been removed to create a second, and non-agricultural access to ‘Field L583’ from the property, Les Petites Montagnes.

Pictured: The field in question is in the heart of rural St Lawrence.

The notice explains: “The operation amounts to development, as defined in Article 5 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 and has not been granted permission by way of the provisions of the Planning and Building (General Development) (Jersey) Order 2011.

“The creation of a second access into an agricultural field requires planning consent and would only be granted for agricultural use. 

“The use of the access to Les Petites Montagnes Le Chemin des Montagnes, St. Lawrence is for domestic access only. The field boundary is situated in the Green Zone and is an historic and important feature of the rural and agricultural landscape so any interference should be carefully considered through the established application process.”

It says that the breach does not comply with policies of the Bridging Island Plan “and therefore a planning application would likely be rejected”.

To rectify the breach, the field boundary needs to be reinstated between the field and the property, and the non-agricultural access should stop.

Whoever has committed the breach has 21 days to comply, although there is an appeal route.