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A second States-backed office block will be built on the Esplanade car park after the Planning Minister rejected an appeal by a rival developer.
C Le Masurier – a property company owned by the super-wealthy Clarke family – had appealed an application by the Jersey Development Company to build a six-storey office block directly north of the underpass.
But Deputy Steve Luce has thrown out the third-party appeal after an independent report by planning inspector Philip Staddon recommended that he reject it and confirm permission to build.
Despite C Le Masurier’s appeal case being “extremely comprehensive, detailed and wide-ranging”, Mr Staddon concluded that Building 5 was compatible with all development plans, including the Esplanade Quarter Masterplan and Island Plan.
“In my view, there can be little doubt that the Building 5 proposal strongly accords with most of the relevant policies in the Island Plan,” he writes. “Indeed, I find that it is a positive and high quality development that supports many of the Plan’s strategic, economic and more detailed technical policies.”
Mr Staddon also gave the Planning Minister some food for thought, recommending that Deputy Luce review and update the 2008 Masterplan “to provide a sound basis for future decision making and scheme delivery”.
Work to construct Building 5 could start in October, subject to JDC getting enough space pre-let, with completion halfway through 2018.
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