Checkout multi-million pound plans to regenerate north of town

Monday 23 June 2014

A local property developer is planning to invest £30 million into the North of St Helier and build a large supermarket and housing on the former Ann Street Brewery site, currently a derelict brown field site.

If Comprop’s plans are approved they will use local contractors to build a 30,000 square feet supermarket and 41 homes – whilst retaining the old brewery’s art deco façade and refurbishing listed buildings.

The company also plans to widen part of St Saviour’s road and make the pavement bigger with a footpath all the way to the Town Park.

Comprop’s Managing Director Steve Marie said: 
“We have been in discussion with Planning and Environment for a number of years in connection with this site and are delighted to now be in a position to submit a Planning Application.

“This is a complex scheme, requiring detailed analyses of all the various aspects of a scheme of this nature. We have been fortunate enough to work with a highly skilled local team, supported by off-Island experts, to bring these Plans to the submission stage. If approved, we will be looking to engage local contractors, so supporting the local workforce during the build process.


“This is private investment, estimated in the region of £30 million. The result will be a new supermarket facility, enabling more choice for the consumer, job creation within the Island, support for local businesses supplying ancillary services to the supermarket, as well as the refurbishment of historic buildings and creation of new residential properties in the area; all in line with current States’ policy. We are very committed to this site and sincerely hope that our proposals are well received by planning and the community in general.”

Alliance will run the supermarket, which will be one of the largest food stores in the Island, and plan to sell a range of Tesco’s products.

Alliance Managing Director Andrew Bagot said: “We are delighted that the application for this major store on the Ann Street site has been submitted. We have been working with Comprop for some time on this significant investment project and we are extremely excited to be taking this step.

“At 30,000 square feet, this store will be as big as the largest food stores in the Island and will be a huge step for us in delivering real quality, value and choice to customers here through our long-term partnership with Tesco. We still plan to open our store in the town centre before the end of the year, and work is progressing on that site right now. Although the Ann Street site is a little further down the pipeline, we hope that the scale of the project and the investment in the site and in the jobs that we will be creating in both stores demonstrates our commitment to offering that quality, value and choice to Islanders.”

The five-floor store will have a rooftop café and parking for more than 300 cars. It’s all been designed by local architects Waddington.

Managing Director Mike Waddington said: “It is rare for us to be involved in a project that combines so many positive ingredients. From refurbishing listed buildings, regenerating a derelict brownfield site, public realm improvements and pedestrian connectivity to delivering confident modern architecture which respects its context, the Ann Street Brewery project has the potential to do all this.

“The project is exciting as it will also provide not only new homes in St Helier, but also the opportunity for Islanders to benefit from lower cost food shopping.”

The former Ann Street brewery closed ten years ago when the new micro-brewery opened at Longueville in St Saviour. Comprop bought it in 2006 and has already demolished some of the derelict brewery buildings.  They plan to refurbish a number of buildings on the site including the former head brewer's house and the former Belgrave Guest House.

They’ve been renting the site out for temporary private car parking since 2010.