Plans to demolish post-war hotel for sustainable flats

Monday 10 February 2020

Plans have gone in to demolish a “poorly configured” hotel built in the tourism boom after the Second World War to make way for a “sustainable” apartment block.

The Hotel Miramar – which housed 37 bedrooms for up to 74 guests and 14 staff - is the third hotel to be slated for redevelopment in the last two years.

In a statement submitted as part of their Planning Application, MS Planning – the agent - explained that due to the declining visitor numbers, the 37-bedroom hotel located on Mont Gras d'Eau had not seen “any significant investment for many years", which they said was reflected in its "poor visual appearance”.

Pictured: The Hotel Miramar is located on Mont Gras d'Eau. (Google Maps)

“Its design and appearance is typical of an era when more tourism accommodation was going up very quickly to meet the demand post 2nd World War and which will not win it any architectural prizes,” they noted.

“The fabric of the building is also of its time and has virtually no thermal efficiency nor does the building have any efficient methods of heating or renewable sources of energy.”

In addition, the agent noted there were a number of issues with the hotel, which they described as having “a dated and poor visual appearance”.

Its poor configuration with different levels – including a four-storey and five-storey block – prevent it from being converted for alternative uses, as disabled access would not be possible, MS Planning reasoned, while its “poor parking arrangements” were said to cause “issues” on the private road outside the hotel.

Pictured: The proposed building as seen from Mont Gras d'Eau. (MS Planning)

They have therefore drawn up plans for a four-storey building with green roofs and terraces, housing 10 two-bedroom flats and two three-bedroom apartments, for the applicant LGMD Ltd.

While it will have the same footprint to the hotel, MS Planning said the new building will be fabricated “to much higher levels of thermal performance” and have a smaller carbon footprint, through the use of “energy efficient principles”. 

The new building has also been designed to limit carbon emissions and make good use of opportunities for renewable and low carbon energy. 

Pictured: MS Planning said the new building will use "high quality" materials. (MS Planning)

The development will include 11 spaces in the basement car park, six spaces on the north of the site and another 10 in the existing car park area, which will be expanded. The private road outside will also be widened to facilitate access. 

“The design of the new building, using high quality external materials and the improved soft landscaping, is of a high quality, finessed by the Jersey Architecture Commission and is a significant visual improvement to the building it replaces,” MS Planning commented.

The agent added that the proposed building would be more discreet than the five-storey building that has been approved for building on the site of the former Windmills Hotel.

The proposals – which are still awaiting approval - are 16,500sqft smaller than earlier plans that aimed to create 18 two-bed room apartments and a basement car park, following Public Meetings at St. Brelade’s Parish Hall and an assessment by the Jersey Architecture Commission.

Last Summer, the Planning Department authorised the redevelopment of the Windmills Hotel into 11 high-end flats. The Windmills Hotel is located just a stone’s throw away from the Miramar and had been built in the 1960s at the height of Jersey’s tourism boom.

Meanwhile, a similar application has been made made by a local family for the redevelopment of the the 173-bed Westhill Country Hotel in St. Helier, which they had run for six decades.

The Planning Department is still considering the proposals to scrap the hotel to make way for 51 apartments in its place – including six penthouses, 30 two-beds and 15 one-beds.

Pictured top: Hotel Miramar and the development plans. (MS Planning/Google Maps)