Bus shelter debate holds up housing development

Saturday 25 February 2017

Planning has deferred a decision on whether to give the go ahead to allow a grade 1 listed building to be converted into homes because of an argument over a bus shelter.

Under the scheme proposed for Sion Methodist Church in St John the existing chapel will be turned into a home, and the adjacent school hall into a further two homes. A current building that also sits on the site would be demolished and replaced by two new buildings, and the ‘Caretaker’s Cottage’ retained.

But, there’s a sticking point over art and a bus shelter.

Under the original scheme the developers had agreed to fund an artwork – a Jersey granite and glass sculpture – that would have stood in front of the building next to the road and have enhanced the area.

The so-called Percentage for Art Policy is a Planning driven initiative that encourages developers of large projects to pay for a work of art which it’s argued benefits Islanders on both a strategic and local level.

Rather than fund the sculpture though, parish Constable Chris Taylor argued it would be better to spend the money on a new bus shelter, which he claims, if done properly, can also be considered ‘a work of art’. Because the Sion scheme is relatively small scale – has fewer than 10 residential units – Planning policy doesn’t force it to include a shelter automatically.

The developers say they don’t mind which they pay for, but don’t want to pay twice.

There are other complications though. The bus shelter if approved will be on the other side of the road to the development at the entrance to Sion Village, on land that the developers don’t own. This means if they changed their mind about funding the project, Planning couldn’t force them to build the shelter.

Constable Taylor says the shelter is badly needed: “parishioners regularly find themselves waiting in the rain to catch the bus, and getting splashed by passing cars”. He’s approached Transport and Technical Services about funding a shelter, but they’ve told him they don’t have the money, and it’d take at least two years before they could find it.

But, it seems a complicated series of agreements may finally solve the problem. The developers will give the parish the money, they’ll contact Planning, and Planning will drop the clause stating the need for a work of art. Although it does raise the issue of whether money set aside for art can be used for other purposes.

The result: the development goes ahead, and St John’s gets its work of art – a bus shelter which Constable Taylor describes as a beautiful traditional solid oak structure – and parishioners no longer have to get wet waiting in the rain for a bus.