Eight years later... divisive development gets 'waves' of approval

Friday 14 December 2018

After eight years, several returns to the drawing board and a successful challenge from an 89-year-old grandmother, plans for a controversial coastal housing development have finally received the ‘waves’ of approval they need to become a reality.

A local husband and wife were yesterday given the green light by the Planning Committee for plans to convert Grouville’s Elizabeth Cottage into ten homes – right next to historic coastal fortification Keppel Martello Tower No. 2.

Residents of two and three-bedroom apartments will also have access to underground parking, and the development will also entail creating a new public footpath. The developer pair have also contributed funding for a new bus shelter and a contribution to the Eastern cycleway. 

It comes after a years-long fight to get the complex – known as ‘The Waves’ – approved.

Pictured: The development has now been approved after eight years.

Originally, there were plans to place more than a dozen homes in the area, but they were thwarted in March following the objections of more than 20 islanders, whose efforts were spearheaded by long-term campaigner and ‘custodian’ of the area, Mary Herold (now 90), who lives just 50m away from Keppel Tower in a 19^thcentury home that has been in her family since 1912. 

Together, they claimed that the development's scale threatened the heritage of the area, and didn’t respect the tower, leading a planning inspector to rule against it. 

Nonetheless, the plans were met with success when they came before the Planning Committee yesterday. 

Applicant Bob Beslievre said he was “delighted” with the result following eight years of “painstaking work on the scheme”. He thanked his team and members of the Planning Department for their “tireless efforts”, adding: “We are also grateful to our neighbours for their overwhelming support.”

 Pictured: Mary Herold (90), who described herself as a "custodian" of the area, given that her family had lived there since 1912.

“We are pleased the Planning Committee has shown their support and we can now start looking forward to regenerating this derelict part of Grouville’s coastline and to reinstate a part of Island history for the public with the restoration of Keppel Tower,” he said.