Developer ignores States vote and presses on with development plan for green space

Friday 06 November 2015

A States vote to protect open space at La Collette is being ignored by the Island’s publicly-owned housing developer, who are pressing ahead with plans that politicians voted down just two months ago.

Andium Homes – which took over the States’ social housing portfolio last year – have ignored September’s 19-22 vote to protect open green space at La Collette, and have resubmitted the same Planning application for 147 units in five-story blocks of flats that politicians told them to scrap.

Deputy Russell Labey, who led the battle against the original proposals and won a victory over the Council of Ministers in the vote, says that it is outrageous for a publicly-owned developer to go against a decision by democratically-elected politicians and says that he will go back to the States to stop them again.

He says that the proposals are in breach of the Island Plan and will remove much-needed open space from a crowded part of town.

In a statement, Deputy Labey said: “Effectively I'm going to have to go back to the States and this time I'm going to have to ask the Treasury Minister, who is the shareholder representative, to ask the board to withdraw the Planning application, or any Planning application that does not respect the States decision to protect and preserve the open space status of that parcel of land.

"No-one is saying don't refurbish the flats. All we are asking for is compromise to leave the open space which is an amenity for the tenants, and also for the rest of the neighbourhood.

"The debate in September could not have been clearer. The arguments were won. On the face of it, it looks like a kick in the face to the States, to democratically-elected representatives. I cannot conceive of this happening in any other democracy."