Fresh bid to replace Hotel Savoy with eco-townhouses

Thursday 03 November 2022

Plans have again been submitted to demolish the Hotel Savoy in Rouge Bouillon and build 56 homes.

In April, an outline application to build the same number of units - including 33 two-bed units – were refused by Planning.

Reasons for refusal included a lack of detail on the impact of the proposed development on neighbouring properties, including Gloucester Mews and Gloucester Terrace, and the fact that the application did not include an ecological assessment, nor was there a waste management plan nor details of the project’s ‘percentage for art’ contribution. 

A new full application published this week includes these elements, as well as an assessment of the impact of the proposed development on neighbours’ sunlight and daylight.

Pictured: The Savoy first became a hotel in 1968.

When it comes to providing artwork, the plan proposes a ‘large scale geometric / organic sculptural form’ by the Rouge Boullion road. 

The 2.5m granite sculpture will have a 200 mm red glazed ceramic line snaking away from it into the main entrance of the new development.

Another piece of art – a fabric installation with ambient lighting – will be housed in the central atrium of the proposed units.

Hotel director Roberto Lora said: “One of the reasons that our last application was rejected was that the Planning Committee wanted to see a lot more detail for the scheme as did some of the neighbours.

“With the new application, we were obviously able to take everything much further, and we also did two public consultations with a view to getting neighbours in and addressing their concerns.

“Their input informed many new changes made to the scheme and their feedback after the changes were made, was particularly positive, we are hopeful that many neighbours are now supporting the scheme, and will see it as a benefit to the Rouge Bouillon as a whole.

“Many studies have now been conducted, like environmental studies, sunlight and traffic, not to mention we have been able to address "percentage for art" - a new Island Plan requirement - and many other details that our initial application didn't contain, but we could see were going to be important if planning officials and neighbours were going to have the confidence to approve its development.

“We also discussed the new scheme with various other key people like Tracey Ingle, Jersey's principal planner for the historic environment, and consulted with the Jersey Architecture Commission, whose principal aim is to provide an external independent forum, where the promotion of good architecture and urban design can take place.

“Lastly we have had very good dialogue with our planning officer and some important site visits to review the scheme and analyse its suitability.

“Again, it is our hope that whereas the last time we did not meet the level required for an approval, our current revised scheme will now be supported by the planning department, of course this is our hope, we cannot be certain, but our view is that we have made some important changes to the scheme to be more mindful of some concerns that we were not aware of until our first application went in.

“The new scheme is a similar amount of units but some maisonettes - duplex apartments - have been changed to regular apartments, and the mix of units has changed slightly; however we were able to keep all the three- and four-bedroom townhouses, which underpin the family orientated vision of the scheme, not to mention the its green credentials, which are still at the forefront of the design and the decisions taken when drawing up the scheme.”

Initial plans for the £30m development were launched in June 2021. Originally an old Victorian house constructed in 1840, the Savoy first became into a hotel in 1968, before Jose Lora and his family took over the 56-room establishment in 1993.

The family’s plans are for the hotel to be replaced with ‘environmentally-conscious family town houses’.

Last year, Mr Lora’s son Roberto told Express the Savoy was “fighting a losing battle” to stay relevant in the ever-changing tourism market.