Select a region
Plans to redevelop a Colomberie-based electrical shop to add eight apartments to the area will aim to "enhance" surroundings with an art installation nodding to Jersey's tourism past.
If the Planning Department gives the proposals the green light, the buildings currently occupied by YESSS Electrical will be removed to make way for a three-storey building with a larger retail unit, customer parking on the ground floor and four two-bedroom flats and four one-bedroom flats above.
Located at 70-72 La Colomberie, the buildings include what was once the ticket office for Colomberie Coach Station.
The plans, which have been designed by Axis Mason on behalf of Metropolitan Distribution (Jersey) Ltd, aim to help “grow the business further and create a better retail experience whilst enhancing the setting of La Colomberie”.
Pictured: The existing buildings will be removed to make way for a new three-storey building.
The new three-storey building will cover what is now an open forecourt where YESSS customers shop. The retail unit and the parking area will be retained and improved. A new entrance will be create for the shop while the new forecourt will enable customers to turn to ensure they exit the parking area facing forwards rather than reversing onto the road as they currently do.
The façade of the new building will be created using a mix of zinc, render and brick, as a note to St. Helier’s “rich history of brick building during the 19th century”.
“There are some fine examples of Victorian brick architecture within St. Helier but it is recognised that they are now the exception rather than the norm,” a Design Statement submitted as part of the planning application noted.
“However, with the emergence of large-scale residential developments like Ann Court, Bath Street, Minden Place, Tunnell Street and Ann Street/Mayfair there is now a mini renaissance on the island for this versatile and sustainable building material, which is being used in a more contemporary style that adds to the richness of the urban realm of St. Helier.”
Pictured: The new building will house four two-bedroom flats and four one-bedroom flats. (Axis Mason)
The plans also include a communal garden for residents in a sheltered courtyard, with tiered steel planters and integrated timber seating.
While residents will not have access to parking spaces, 13 secure cycle parking spaces will be available in a dedicated storage area as well as electric charging points.
In addition, 48 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the building to directly into the electricity grid.
The proposals also include the creation of a ‘seascape sunset’ made out of glazed bricks as a nod to area’s touristic history on the front of the building.
“For any Jersey born resident brought up in the 1960s or 1970s, Colomberie represented all that was good about the island's booming tourism industry,” a statement on the proposed installation compiled by gallery and art consultancy Private & Public.
“A plethora of tourism-related businesses operated from the street and it was a hive of activity that catered for tourists keen to make to the most of the island’s hospitality.”
Pictured: YESSS Electrical will retain its retail unit on the ground floor. (Axis Mason)
The design was created by local artist Siobhann Macleod, who was the lead designer for Pitt Street’s ‘River of Light’ project and designed the award-winning Parish of St. Helier World War One memorial in Parade Gardens.
The Public Art proposals explains that the design takes an image of a sunset – “which we see within the context of the street, its history and its architecture as an echo or a memory from yesteryear” - broken down into 21st century pixels.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.