Neighbour loses £10m airport hangar appeal

Thursday 30 August 2018

A St. Peter resident who argued that constructing new hangars at Jersey Airport would "unreasonably harm his quality of life" has lost his appeal.

The Minister for Planning and Environment announced today that he had dismissed the neighbour's appeal against the £10m project to build three new 24,000 sq. ft. aircraft hangars, upholding the Planning Permission that had previously been given by the Committee.

Plans to build the new hangars, which Ports of Jersey described as their "most significant landmark project to date", had been approved in March but a neighbour subsequently appealed the decision.

The St. Peter resident, whose house neighbours the airport side on three sides, claimed the development would "unreasonably harm his quality of life due to the noise and visual impact." In a written representation to the Planning Committee, he expressed concerns over the level of noise he would be subject to, saying that "permanent noise monitoring should be a condition of any application."

"To have airfield noise abatement without this industry norm monitoring feels as useful as a speed limit without a speed gun," he added.

Concerns had already been raised about the noise in February 2018 and Ports of Jersey was asked to provide further evidence from acoustic experts. They committed to creating new grass banks and a 183m acoustic fence to reduce noise levels as well as landscape the area to enhance the nearby environment. 

Pictured: The hangars will be located on the western part of the airfield (bottom left of the image).

Planning Inspector Philip Staddon was tasked with assessing the appeal. In his report to the Planning Minister, he noted the site of the development fell within its Operational Area and that the plans were therefore "acceptable in principle."

He added that the evidence did not "support a conclusion that the use of the hangars would materially worsen noise conditions for neighbours, including the Appellant's home." He therefore recommended the plans be approved considering there would not be "unreasonable noise impacts," and they were "acceptable in terms of visual and landscape impact."

The Planning Minister, Deputy John Young, followed the Inspector's recommendations and dismissed the neighbour's appeal. Doug Bannister, Group CEO for Ports of Jersey, said they were please with the decision, as it will allow the "exciting plans" to progress.

He added: "This project will bring much needed capacity to service customer demands in the corporate aviation sector. As a business it will enable Ports of Jersey to deliver increased value and return from our assets as well as providing a showcase project for the corporate aviation industry in Jersey, attracting greater interest in our developments.”

Pictured: The new hangars will be built by Canadian company, Sprung.

The three new hangars, which will be located on the western part of the airfield, will be built by Sprung, a Canadian company. Ports of Jersey said they selected Sprung hangars as they have not only been tested to withstand harsh weather and climate conditions but can also easily be relocated and, if required, reconfigured due to their versatile structure.

Now that planning approval has been granted, Ports of Jersey say final negotiations with the preferred contractor can continue. A Building Bylaw will then be submitted for approval and work is expected to start early next year.