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Temporarily moving Overdale's services to the old Les Quennevais School raised eyebrows when it was announced...but it could be a sign of things to come, with the area earmarked to become Jersey's 'second town'.
Les Quennevais is officially confirmed as the island's “secondary centre” of development, after town, in the draft short-term Island Plan, meaning that it is “expected to help meet the island’s development needs over the plan period.”
The plan adds: “Les Quennevais will act as a focus for growth and help to accommodate the need for residential development and the provision of community infrastructure, including sports provision. It will also serve to provide opportunity for economic growth and regeneration in this part of the island.”
Pictured: The ‘short-term’ Island Plan confirms Les Quennevais as the island's “secondary centre” of development. (Gary Grimshaw / Photoreportage)
“The plan seeks to safeguard and support the retail vitality of this area, but also to introduce a greater flexibility to allow other employment uses in the area, including the development of office accommodation, up to 200 sqm.
“This is designed to encourage investment and to enable Les Quennevais to further develop to provide greater employment opportunities in the west of the island.
“The provision of public open space at Les Quennevais is safeguarded by the plan, which also acknowledges and facilitates the further development and enhancement of the existing sports facilities provided at Les Quennevais Sports Centre, and which is identified for further investment as part of the island-wide inspiring active places strategy.”
Environment Minister Deputy John Young said that the “one-size-fits-all” planning policy - which meant that a house in rural Grouville had to meet the same requirements of a home in urban St. Brelade did not make sense .
“The settlement hierarchy starts to rectify that,” he said. “With Les Quennevais, we are not envisaging building lots of new homes. It is more about making better use of land already built on, while maintaining and enhancing employment opportunities in the area, which will mean fewer people commuting to and from Town each day.
“This could be for new offices or the redevelopment of existing office space which could be suitable for the digital sector or small- to medium-sized businesses. This would not just recognise Les Quennevais’s role as the island‘s secondary centre but also capitalise on its proximity to the Airport.”
So, how might we see Les Quennevais changing in the future?
Express gathered some views from people who with live, work or have responsibility for the area...
Pictured: The Constable of St. Brelade, Mike Jackson.
“The built-up area of Les Quennevais is being identified in the proposed Bridging Island Plan as the Island’s secondary urban area, and as such, is expected to meet the island’s development needs over the plan period.
The defined centre for Les Quennevais incorporates Waitrose at the southern end and Quennevais parade in the North. It is a relatively narrow strip in reality, and there is no doubt that some of the commercial establishments could be enhanced and modernised to adapt to current day requirements.
The state of Quennevais Parade is often a subject for discussion, and provides homes to many who have bought their flats on a ‘flying freehold’ basis; whereas the ground floor commercial areas seem to struggle to find tenants. This may be due to the diminution of ‘on street’ retailing in the face of online shopping, high rents, or it maybe that the property owners missed a trick by not redeveloping this 60-year-old complex, prior to selling off the flats.
Pictured: "The state of Quennevais Parade is often a subject for discussion," the Constable said. (Gary Grimshaw / Photoreportage)
The position is that it is now far more difficult to upgrade the Parade and precinct than it might have been. Exploration of the long-term future of this area must continue to be explored - but I wouldn’t expect much change in the next three years of this plan.
The word ‘urbanisation’ is not a pleasant one, and ‘urban sprawl’ is an equally distasteful term, which fills most people with dread as they envisage open areas being infilled with concrete in the guise of the latest architectural fancy. There is room for the upgrading of certain properties; but given the many empty units presently in the area the proposed increased commercialisation of Les Quennevais may be somewhat premature.
It will be a challenge to increase economic activity without fully understanding what the future of the local retail industry will look like, so some flexibility in the plan to adapt to changing needs is of significant importance.”
Pictured: Richard Vibert, the Constable of St. Peter.
“The Draft Island Plan recognised that existing infrastructure in the Les Quennevais area makes it the ideal location to be the islands’ secondary urban hub. The area benefits from its proximity to the Airport, it has a large public sports centre, a large new secondary school, a library, a retail area and existing transport links.
I can only comment personally, as the Constable of the neighbouring Parish of St. Peter, but regeneration of some of the existing retail areas would attract new businesses; and if the area was developed into the second island ‘town’ the inclusion of additional cafés, restaurants and other businesses would create a new vibrant location as an alternative to St. Helier.
Changes of this nature would require extensive consultation with existing businesses and residents. Additional housing and commercial properties have to be sympathetic to existing residents, as their ‘buy-in’ to such changes is essential.
Pictured: Constable Vibert said there could be many benefits to Quennevais becoming our ‘second town'. (Gary Grimshaw / Photoreportage)
Planners should also note the impact on surrounding areas, as the development of Les Quennevais should not be to the detriment of other established areas such as St. Aubin, and the Parish communities where growth must still be permitted, if these communities are to continue to thrive.
In the UK, numerous village shops and businesses have disappeared as alternative retail centres are created; the outcome has been in some cases a fairly rapid demise in those villages, as residents no longer had the convenience of local shops and facilities.
The existing public transport links are currently adequate, but if developed into a hub for retail and businesses, the bus services should link to the surrounding parishes directly. There is currently no bus service that links the western parishes directly to the Quennevais area, despite it already having a significant number of retail outlets.
In conclusion, there are many benefits to Quennevais becoming our ‘second town,’ but this cannot be undertaken without significant input from all stakeholders, and with due regard to how the growth in that area would impact the communities in the surrounding parishes.”
Pictured: Ed Newman is a Surveyor for Buckley & Co, who represent some of the main land and property owners in the area.
“We welcomed the recent news that Les Quennevais has been identified by the Government of Jersey as the island’s ‘second town’ in the bridging Island Plan.
A second commercial hub would have many benefits for the island as a whole, and would do much to reduce current traffic levels centred around St. Helier, particularly during peak hours. It would also provide those islanders living in the west of the island with an alternative employment location closer to home, thereby reducing commuting times and increasing their quality of life, whilst at the same time taking some of the pressure off of St. Helier - which has of course traditionally been the main focus of commercial activity for Jersey.
The stated aim of the Government’s plan is to safeguard the area’s existing retail offering and to provide further employment uses and opportunities including the development of office space through targeted economic development and regeneration.
Pictured: "A second commercial hub would have many benefits for the island as a whole," Mr Newman said. (Gary Grimshaw / Photoreportage)
These are worthy aspirations, however, at present this is simply a very high-level objective, and we lack any detail as to what this will actually entail, any anticipated timescales and more importantly the likely level of funding that will be available, and where this will come from. As the old saying goes ‘the devil is in the detail.’
The area identified by Government is already densely developed, so the regeneration of existing sites will be fundamental. A key practical factor that will need to be considered is the sheer number of separate property holdings and stakeholders each of whom may have different agendas and aspirations.
To execute an effective regeneration of the area and to improve the efficiency of the land use, a combined cohesive approach will be required between landowners and the Government of Jersey, not to mention extensive funding.
We represent several landowners in the area who have reacted positively to the news, however they share our own reservations on how realistic the regeneration will be, due to the number of different stakeholders in the area.
We await with interest further information from the Government along with an opportunity for constructive consultation.”
Pictured: “I’m all for data-led decision-making," said Tony Moretta, the CEO of Digital Jersey.
“I’m all for data-led decision-making, but I’m also all for thinking about how change affects people.
It’s why reading the Island Plan and its proposal, effectively, to turn the area around Les Quennevais in St Brelade into Jersey’s de facto ‘second town,’ gives me hope for all the opportunity that ambition presents.
Digital Jersey’s main base is in the heart of St. Helier but our Digital Jersey Xchange is in the old telephone exchange building in St. Brelade. It’s our dedicated technology space and research centre where, among other things, we explore how digital connections and digitally connected devices can improve all our lives.
Pictured: The Digital Jersey Xchange is in the old telephone exchange building in St. Brelade. (Gary Grimshaw / Photoreportage)
Les Quennevais is just a short hop from the airport. There are shops, from the local bakery and pharmacy to a big supermarket. We’ve the new Les Quennevais School and we’re about to see a bunch of new sporting facilities by the rugby club, propelled onto the international stage thanks to the British and Irish Lions’ training camp on-island.
Any plan to expand any residential or commercial area means lots of consideration. How will it affect traffic flows? Are there enough school places for the anticipated number of children if there’s to be more housing? Indeed, can the sewage pipes cope with more people in the area?
These are all areas where Digital Jersey can help through the use of what are known as digital twins – these are computerised versions of a place or space where a range of data can be overlaid.
We could look at a virtual recreation of the road network and see what would happen if, for example 100 more families moved in. We could consider what the commute might look like if people were travelling to Les Quennevais rather than town at the start of the day. We could plot the best use of the bus service, where the pinch points for pedestrian crossings should go, and much more beside. This is why I talk so much about data-driven decision-making.
Pictured: "We could look at a virtual recreation of the road network and see what would happen if, for example 100 more families moved in," Mr Moretta suggested. (Gary Grimshaw / Photoreportage)
The Island Plan’s grand plan for Les Quennevais gives us all as a community the opportunity to do that. I can easily imagine a richly vibrant second town where people live, work and play. I can easily see why people would want to call it home given the beauty of the bay just down the road.
But, whatever happens next, let’s go with more than just our gut about what might or might not work. This is our chance to do something special to improve things for everybody in the area.”
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