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The Director of the Savoy has described his relief following the approval of plans to demolish the hotel and replace it with 53 'eco-townhouses' – but reassured customers that "the Savoy will be around for a few years yet".
Assistant Environment Minister Mike Jackson yesterday approved two major planning applications after a lengthy appeal process.
One of these was a proposal for more than 100 new homes at the former South Hill planning offices, and the other was for the Hotel Savoy.
In 2021, the owners of the family-run hotel announced plans to demolish the premises and replace it with a mix of a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments.
Both applications had been highly contentious, and were only approved after appeals heard by an independent planning inspector.
Pictured: More than 100 new homes at the former South Hill planning offices were also approved yesterday. (JDC/FeildenCleggBradleyStudios)
Following yesterday's announcement, Hotel Savoy Director Roberto Lora said: "We are relieved!
"It's been a hard process, and we are now extremely pleased that the clear recommendation of the independent expert has been endorsed and the situation is finally settled."
According to the planning inspector, the "main concern" of the Hotel Savoy appeal centred on "whether the impact of the redevelopment will be within acceptable limits".
The two previous rejections of the Hotel Savoy proposals had centre around the impact on neighbouring properties, which has now been addressed by stepping parts of the development further back from the northern and southern boundaries and introducing measures to avoid overlooking.
The independent inspector concluded that "the impact of the development will be within acceptable limits".
The Hotel Savoy planning appeal was therefore recommended for approval under the conditions that at least 15% of the residential units as assisted purchase homes; a 'Percentage for Art' contribution is made; and a contribution towards the improvement of the Eastern Cycle Route Network is made.
Unveiling the first iteration of the plans in June 2021, Mr Lora said the hotel had been “fighting a losing battle” to stay relevant to the ever-changing tourism market.
The first refusal was in April 2022 due to a lack of detail on the impact of the proposed development on neighbouring properties, and the fact that the application did not include an ecological assessment, nor was there a waste management plan nor details of the project’s ‘percentage for art’ contribution.
Pictured: The Savoy first became a hotel in 1968.
A revised application published in November 2022 included these new elements, as well as an assessment of the impact of the proposed development on neighbours’ sunlight and daylight.
But those proposals were unanimously rejected last May amid continuing concerns over the impact on neighbouring properties.
Following the rejection in May, Mr Lora told Express he felt his family and business's experience with Planning raised "concerns about the competence and effectiveness of the planning department".
A key problem, he explained, was inconsistent advice given by two different planning officers – the first of which was operating remotely from the UK.
This first planning officer “crucially supported our eco-friendly family townhouse redevelopment project”, he explained.
However, Mr Lora claims that one month after submitting the application, the UK-based planning officer was “unexpectedly removed from the project without prior notice or communication”.
Pictured: An aerial view of the proposed development.
The hotel director said that this “unprofessional and disappointing situation led to the appointment of a new, unresponsive junior case officer who eventually advised us to withdraw our application, despite the previous endorsement”.
Mr Lora explained: “We invested £250,000 and three years into developing a scheme to exit the hotel business and provide much-needed family homes in Jersey.
“However, the planning department's actions have needlessly hindered our efforts.
“We were ignored and stonewalled when we sought clarification on their reasons for wanting a complete withdrawal.”
While yesterday's news came as a "relief", Mr Lora told Express that development won't be springing into action just yet.
"We are still first and foremost a hotel that is open for business and, even though plans have been approved, the Savoy will be around for a few years yet before any work is likely to begin, so it might be a relief for some of our loyal customers to know that we are going to be around for a little while longer," he said.
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