In late July, after a six-week formal tender process had closed, the Infrastructure Department announced it had accepted an offer of £120,200 for three fields in Pine Walk on the shoreline of St Catherine’s Bay.
The 11 vergées of prime early potato-growing land on either side of the coast road were expected to fetch between £77,000 and £99,000 based on the current price of farmland. The sale also included the landmark pine trees that line the road, officially known as Route Le Brun. The trust acquired the land with funds from an individual supporter of the charity who preferred not to be named.
Trust chief executive Charles Alluto said they were still waiting to pass the contract before the Royal Court. This is the legal process that is required in the Island for land or property to be transferred between owners.
‘We are still resolving boundaries and drainage issues as there are drains that run under the field,’ he said.
Transfers of property take place on a Friday afternoon before the Bailiff and two other officers of the Royal Court and are then registered with the Public Registry where contracts are open to public inspection.
Earlier in July, the National Trust was unsuccessful in another attempt to safeguard an environmentally sensitive piece of the coastline when it lost out in the bidding for a strip of unspoilt coastal duneland between Le Braye Café and El Tico in St Ouen’s Bay. The land had been valued at between £200,000 and £250,000. On that occasion the trust made an offer of £260,020 after receiving donations from more than 70 Islanders in ten days.
Who bought the land and how much was paid for it remains unknown. Maillards Estates, who handled the sale for the current owners, the Simon family, who operate the sand quarry in St Ouen’s Bay, say the sale contract still has to go before the Royal Court.
