Extra half-a-million for island's only disability-focused hotel

Tuesday 18 April 2023

Jersey's only hotel specifically designed for people with disabilities and the elderly is set to receive an additional £500,000 to help deal with the impact of inflation on building costs and the creation of a hydrotherapy centre.

St. Ouen-based Maison des Landes, a hotel in St. Ouen for especially for disabled visitors and the elderly, has been given a grant from the Government-administered Harold Ernest Le Seelleur Fund.

This is in addition to a grant of £1m from the same fund in 2021 to assist with the creation of the centre.

Work commenced in January 2022 on the £3.8 million redevelopment, and the hotel re-opened this April.

A report accompanying the latest funding decision, which was signed off by the Treasury Minister, states that the additional funding is "deemed required as a direct result of significant inflationary pressures in ancillary building costs and increases to other planned expenditure of circa £1.5m."

If approved, it would be used for the completion of the development, as well as providing a tailored venue for use by Jersey Charities working with the disabled, and creating a modern Hydrotherapy Centre.

Pictured: Maison des Landes re-opened this April following a £3.8 million refurbishment.

The Maison des Landes Hotel is run by a charitable trust set up by the Lions Club of Jersey, and has been providing breaks for guests with disabilities since the 1960s.

The hotel closed its doors during covid but re-opened with a new "vision" for a "state-of-the-art" venue, said the Trustees' chairman and Lion Peter Tabb.

The initial 2021 planning proposals were brought forward following consultation with local organisations such as Dementia Jersey to consider "all aspects of disability and not just those confined to wheelchairs." Proposed upgrades included the creation of "more welcoming and accessible" reception area, a Multi-Use Games Area, along with an inclusive sensory stimulating garden.

A condition of the extra funds is the erection of a plaque in the dining area thanking the late HE Le Seelleur for his bequest to the public for the benefit of "the aged, infirm and needy residents of the island".

In 2020, a Ministerial Decision saw £1.02m transferred from the fund to the Health and Community Services (HCS) department to fund Palliative Care Services and the purchase of defibrillators.