Les Quennevais... Our 'second town'?

Thursday 22 April 2021

Les Quennevais could be the island's second major base for homes and economic activity in future.

The recently published short-term Island Plan, which spans the years 2022 to 2025, introduces a ‘settlement hierarchy’ for the first time, which defines Les Quennevais as the island's ‘secondary centre’ of development, after town.

This means 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 boundaries of Les Quennevais, as defined by the bridging Island Plan.

The plan defines Les Quennevais as extending to and including La Moye, Le Saut Falluet, La Petite Route des Mielles, Tabor Heights and Park Estate.

“The Island Plan encourages the more efficient use of land and the redevelopment of existing land and buildings here to deliver more homes,” it says. “Development will be consolidated within the existing built-up area; and economic development will be focused in a defined area to support regeneration.

“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.”

Pictured: The bridging plan seeks “to safeguard and support the retail vitality of Les Quennevais, but also to introduce a greater flexibility to allow other employment uses in the area, including the development of office accommodation, up to 200 sq m.”

The Plan adds that further work will be carried out to develop a ‘west of island planning framework’ which would “investigate future planning options and opportunities for Les Quennevais and the wider area, including the former Les Quennevais School site and Jersey Airport”.

This framework will also identify the preferred future use of the former Les Quennevais School, which will be the temporary home to many of the services currently based at Overdale until the new hospital opens in 2026. 

Environment Minister 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.”