Two fields that lie between La Vrangue and Pitronnerie Road have been sold for £1.25 million.
The fields changed hands in July, just over two years after two Draft Development Frameworks (DDF) recommended hundreds of homes be built in the area.
One of the DDFs, which confirmed up to 60 units could be built on the fields between La Vrangue and Pitronnerie Road, was published in April 2024.
The then-owner of the fields put them on the market for £5m just months later, last January.
The separate DDF for a larger nearby area including the current College of Further Education campus and the former Tobacco Factory – labelled as La Vrangue Development Framework – suggested that this land could hold up to 527 units.
That land remains in a mixture of public and private ownership.
Controversy
If the properties intimated in the Draft Development Frameworks are ever built, they will be a mix of flats and houses with some communal outdoor space, and car and bicycle parking spaces.
The exact mix of types and sizes of properties, and the ratio of parking spaces provided for each, will be determined when a formal planning application is made by a prospective developer.
The field between La Vrangue and Pitronnerie Road was described as “within a reasonable walking and cycling distance to local shops and services” meaning it would be suitable for a high density development.
A Traffic Impact Assessment was drawn up alongside the Draft Development Frameworks and it included suggestions for creating safe access to the two proposed development sites including by making La Vrangue Hill one-way for motor vehicles while cyclists could use it in both directions, alongside pedestrians in a new 3m wide shared space.
An East-West Walking and Cycling Route was also proposed with controlled crossings at the junction of Rue Thomas and Routes des Coutanchez / Pitronnerie Road.
Rue Thomas could also be widened to enable safer flowing two-way traffic, along with widened shared pathways near the College of FE site, and at other access points.
A spine road was also suggested to be built through any new housing development at La Vrangue but if that isn’t agreed at the planning application stage then east/west pedestrian and cycle routes should be provided instead, said the DDF.
A ‘Pitronnerie Protection Group’ was set up after the field was first earmarked for housing, to raise these issues, with neighbours saying they wanted to prevent the building work from ever taking place.
However, just 17 people made recommendations to the Development and Planning Authority in total when it was considering the DDFs.
Traffic was one aspect which prompted some of the comments, while other people were also concerned about the risk of flooding, overcrowding, and any impact on wildlife.
Hundreds more people also made comments on the States social media posts at the time.
