New development plans at Portelet cause concern

New development plans at Portelet cause concern

Charles Alluto spoke out on the tenth anniversary of the A Line in the Sand campaign in opposition to plans to build the property on the site of a 1970s bungalow. He said that the proposed building would be ‘contrary to both the Island Plan and Planning Law’.

As reported above, Mr Alluto and other campaigners are today calling for a new show of support for better protection of the coastline.

They also want to see the Coastal National Park enlarged in the new Island Plan, which will set planning policy for the next ten years.

DT Holdings (Jersey) Ltd are seeking planning permission to demolish the 1970s St Albans property to make way for the new eco-house, which would include a cinema, indoor pool with steam room, sauna, wine cellar and gym. They are also applying to construct an adjoining one-bedroom apartment. Designs accompanying the planning application feature ‘green roofs’ with wildflower meadows for migrating birds and safe havens for reptiles. The area’s existing habitats would, the applicants say, be restored and managed.

According to the Jersey Financial Services Commission company registry, the registered office of DT Holdings is at Fairway Trust Ltd, in Bath Street.

Speaking from an annual Channel Islands environmental conference in Alderney, Mr Alluto said: ‘The trust is deeply concerned regarding the recent application for the redevelopment of St Albans, which will result in a considerable increase in massing, scale and visibility on the coastline of Portelet Bay, which has already suffered the ignominy of inappropriate development over the years.

‘The proposed dwelling will be three-storey and will entail a doubling in square footage, and no justification in terms of Island Plan policy has been provided.

‘Rather bizarrely, the precedents quoted either relate to the Dominican Republic or the Portelet Hotel redevelopment, which, in contrast, provided a significant reduction in footprint and visual impact.’

He added: ‘The application is clearly contrary to Island Plan policy and Planning Law, and it is very disappointing that such applications are still being submitted, given the detrimental impact they will have upon our coastal landscape.

‘We truly hope that the new Island Plan policies will provide enhanced clarity and ensure that the Coastal National Park boundaries are reviewed, so that such applications become a thing of the past.

Environmentalist Mike Stentiford, a member of the Coastal National Park interim working group, said that the proposed development was situated outside of the current national park, but in the protected green zone, adding that he also hoped that the park would be enlarged in the new Island Plan.

‘The national park needs looking at,’ he said. ‘For example, the boundaries need to make a bit more sense on the north coast. In some places it is just a footpath, a line, and cannot be described as a coastal national park. It is pretty pathetic.’

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