Motorhome owners Steven and Margaret Traynor applied in August to provide year-round facilities for nine vehicles in the garden of their home, Les Talus, which is located below Mont Les Vaux.
The house and surrounding area is in the green zone, where there is a presumption against new development. It is also in the tourist destination zone of Jersey’s planning blueprint, the Island Plan.
Addressing the Planning Committee when it met at St Paul’s Centre on Thursday, Mr Traynor said: ‘The scheme is not a profit-making scheme and it is not commercial. We are proposing it because we are motorhome owners.’
The committee, comprising Deputies Scott Wickenden and Rowland Huelin and Constables Philip Le Sueur and Deidre Mezbourian were unanimous in refusing it in spite of the scheme being supported by the Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture Department.
Mr Le Sueur said: ‘I think any marginal benefit the site may have for the tourism industry would be really outweighed by the damage to the surrounding character and the green zone.’
At present mobile homes in Jersey are restricted to two registered campsites and a small site in St Peter, as Island legislation bans sleeping in any make of vehicle on public and private land as well as in public car parks.
However, this has not prevented an unofficial mobile camp being set up at Le Port in St Ouen’s Bay. As part of a campaign to make Le Port official and to request more permitted sites, motorhome users organised a petition which received around 1,500 signatures.
Deputy Wickenden said that while he agreed there was demand for motorhome sites, the matter should be part of the review of the Island Plan and for the States to decide.
