Planning say yes to demolition, but no to rebuilding

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Jersey Water have been given planning permission to demolish a listed nineteenth-century reservoir keeper’s cottage in Waterworks Valley but say they are disappointed the department won’t let them rebuild Millbrook Lodge on another site nearby.

Although Planning officers said the public had a right to expect historic buildings to be better looked after by publicly-owned bodies, the Planning Applications Panel approved the demolition of the old cottage in St Lawrence after Jersey Water argued it was beyond repair, having been built on unstable ground.

The company had applied for permission to rebuild the cottage and divert the existing stream and footpath as well as providing three car parking spaces along Ruelle de St Clair but Planning decided there was little conservation merit in the plans and not justified as an exception to green zone policy.

Managing Director and Engineer of Jersey Water Howard Snowden said: “We are disappointed that the panel decided not to allow the re-construction of the building further up Waterworks Valley at the head of Millbrook Reservoir, where we believe the property could have maintained its association with the original site.

“Jersey Water, in conjunction with the Planning Department, has investigated several other optional sites for the relocation of the building without success, the primary obstacle being that most of Jersey Water land is located within Green Zone land, where there is a policy presumption against new development.”

The Company are now making plans to knock down the lodge.