Bad vibz? Environment Minister rejects Havre des Pas redevelopment

Monday 15 February 2021

The Environment Minister has ruled that a five-storey apartment block can no longer be developed at Havre des Pas, after the owner of a nearby premises brought an appeal against the plans.

Plans to demolish Caribbean Vibz, the Drifters Beach Bar and Café, as well as Maison Chaussey Guest House to make way for 10 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom flats had unanimously been approved by the Planning Committee in February 2020.

Giancarlo and Marc Mattioli, whose family has owned the Marina Metro Hotel for 50 years, then appealed the decision, citing among their grounds of appeal issues they had previously raised at the Planning Committee meeting.

At the hearing held by Planning Inspector David Hainsworth in October 2020, the family argued the development would cause “unreasonable harm” to neighbouring amenities as well as causing some of the hotel bedrooms to lose their outlook and access to daylight. 

Pictured: Giancarlo and Marc Mattioli, whose family has owned the Marina Metro Hotel for 50 years, had appealed the decision to grant planning permission. 

They also said the plans would amount to “overdevelopment of the site” and were in conflict with Island Plan policies, adding that there was not enough justification to approve them.

The family also said the developers, Mevanna Prestige Limited, had failed to show that the Caribbean Vibz restaurant and Drifters Beach Bar and Café were no longer viable or that they had been marketed.

In addition, they said only two of 17 units would meet with the minimum space standards for living space as well as internal and external storage.

The inspector also received representations from the National Trust and the Parish of St. Helier, which expressed concerns about the height and mass of the building and the tunnel effect it would create on the main road, and the fact that there would be less than one parking space per unit, respectively.

Islanders, meanwhile, shared their concerns at the loss of the existing restaurants and bars, the effect of the development on the character of the area and the loss of privacy for nearby apartments and houses.

Pictured: Islanders shared their concerns at the loss of the existing restaurants and bars in the area.

Mevanna said the plans complied with the Island Plan “as a whole” and maintained that, if any element was not compliant, there was sufficient justification for the Minister to approve the development on the basis that it delivers “an imaginative and high-quality design” and makes “the best use of land." 

They acknowledged the development could cause harm, but said it wasn’t significant enough for the whole scheme to be deemed unreasonable. 

They said it was “unrealistic” for the current buildings to be updated to present-day standards in a cost-effective way, arguing that “considerable investment” would be needed to refurbish them.

The Planning Inspector eventually concluded the planning permission should be refused as it would “unreasonably harm” the amenities of the Marina Metro Hotel, with which it would have “an unsatisfactory relationship”.

Mr Hainsworth added that Mevanna had failed to show the buildings couldn’t be repaired or refurbished and that it would be uneconomic to do so, as such he said the plans were in conflict with the Island Plan which states no development will be permitted if they replace a building that can be repaired.

The Inspector also noted the plan would result in the loss of employment land.

Pictured: Deputy John Young, the Minister for the Environment, rejected planning permission.

Environment Minister Deputy John Young agreed with the recommendation of the inspector and rejected the application. In the Ministerial Decision in which he outlined his reasoning, he said he had considered that the proposed “sub-standard level of proposed accommodation.”

He also added that the development would represent “an erosion of tourist support facilities within Havre des Pas, which has been identified as a Tourist Destination Area.

The proposals had previously been pulled amid neighbours' concerns, and then rejected by the Planning Committee due to fears they would be harmful to nearby residents, particularly the Marina Metro Hotel.

Mevanna then scaled back its proposals, reducing the number of flats to 17, and scrapping the mezzanine levels on the fifth floor to reduce the overall height and size of the building.