Sea wall saga causes delay to major coastal housing development

Tuesday 19 September 2017

A major housing revamp along the island’s southern coastline was delayed by six months after architects were forced to redraw plans because the development was too close to the sea wall.

Gallaher Architects submitted plans to develop part of the Greve D’Azette coastal strip in December 2016.

Their aim, lead architect Justin Gallaher told Express, was to “give a bit of life” to a rundown area part of Greve D’Azette by demolishing a corner shop and five existing residential properties, and building four townhouses, a block of six apartments and one three-bedroom home – each boasting coastal views and beach access. 

But those plans were withdrawn by March this year after they learnt from the Department for Infrastructure, with which the firm had been in contact over drainage and transport, that the development’s proximity to the publicly-owned sea wall meant that it was likely to be refused.

 Pictured: A view of the proposed properties from the St Clement beach. (Gallaher Architects)

Following discussions, an application was resubmitted this week, with the properties and basement area set further back from the wall than originally intended. 

“What we had to do is pull the scheme back from the sea wall because if it’s under public ownership then we need to put it far away enough… so if the sea undermines the sea wall and repair works have to be done then it is public money and they have access to repair it,” Mr Gallaher explained.

If approved by the Planning Department, he hopes that the new development will help to reinvigorate Greve d’Azette both from a coastal and roadside perspective. “It is a bit of a concrete jungle so we’re putting a bit of green roadside space in there,” he commented.

“Part of the design which is a requirement from Planning is to hide away any cars, so we’re putting in a basement carpark and that gets rid of any sight of cars that allows a bit more landscaping really and allows the road to breathe a bit rather than building right on the edge… [Each property] will look a bit different so we’re really introducing a bit of diversity,” he added.

 Pictured: A view of the development, which will include a bus stop, from La Grande Route de St Clement. (Gallaher Architects)

The land on which the properties will be built falls between Brise de Mer and Roche de la Mer – two properties formerly owned by islanders who were forced to fork out tens of thousands in ‘compensation’ to the States of Jersey because their properties encroached on the Foreshore, a vaguely-defined strip between low and high tide for which the sea wall serves no boundary.

In both cases, the owners were made to pay despite the fact that they were not responsible for building the encroachments, which had been approved years earlier by Planning. The subsequent charges, as first reported by Express, caused uproar locally, with some branding it a 'Backdated Foreshore Infringement Tax'. Meanwhile, Deputy Carolyn Labey called it a "stand and deliver" fine.

Last week, the Minister was grilled over what maps were being used to define the point of ‘high tide’, but he did not confirm this, explaining that the issue was complex.

Pictured: Brise de Mer and Roche de la Mer

While this new development will be set several feet further back from the sea wall, it is unknown at this stage whether the proposed development will face the same fate as its neighbours.