Vigilante neighbours win construction site dispute

Monday 17 September 2018

Residents living near a noisy builder’s yard in St. Brelade went to extreme lengths to ensure action was taken against their neighbours, including secretly filming the site.

Irked by the din from machinery in the field, a band of 10 islanders living nearby went so far as to submit a USB stick containing the recording and a written statement to the Planning Department as proof of the “unreasonable” noise level.

The complaints came amid an investigation by independent inspector Graham Self, who was tasked with reviewing whether the owners, Scott and Michel Boydens, had breached Planning controls regulating the site’s use. 

They were alleged to have unlawfully installed a shipping container, workstations and a machinery store, as well as carrying out unauthorised stone cutting, 

In June, Planning issued a final warning demanding that the pair remove the “unauthorised” structures and stop using the land for stone cutting – demands which they subsequently appealed. 

Pictured: The site is close to La Route de Petit Port in St. Brelade. (Google Maps)

After visiting the site, Mr Self observed that it had "the general appearance of a former gravel quarry".

The Boydens’ argument was that they had the “tacit agreement” of Planning to operate this way, and had done so “for more than 25 years.” 

In a bid to prove that they’d used the site for stone working for many years, they handed diary entries dating back over 20 years to the inspector, although these did not end up helping their case. 

“…The days or parts of days when stone working at the site is specifically noted in the diaries are few: I calculate that between the years 1997 and 2009 the average number of days when stone working in the yard is recorded is about 4 per year,” Mr Self noted in his report.

Responding to the appeal, neighbours rallied together to ensure that the notice was upheld on the grounds that they had “suffered unreasonable levels of noise and dust” caused by the unauthorised work taking place on the site since 2015.

Pictured: The Boydens' St. Brelade field was issued with an enforcement notice following complaints of unauthorised stonework being carried out.

They argued that the Boydens “knowingly misled the Planning Department and Committee about the use of the site when making the original planning application and have continued to do so.”

Mr Self concluded his review of the case last week, ultimately ruling in the neighbours’ favour.

He recommended that the appeal be dismissed and the enforcement notice upheld, but amended slightly. 

The Minister for Planning and Environment, Deputy John Young, agreed with Mr Self’s findings. The offending structures will now have to be removed within four months.