Planning permission has been granted for a 30-home affordable housing development on the edge of St Martin’s Village after a decision to refuse the scheme was overturned.
Assistant Environment Minister Sir Mark Boleat approved the application for the site on La Rue des Buttes after considering an appeal against the Planning Committee’s refusal in March.
Senator Boleat is poised to become the Island’s dedicated Planning Minister, once the new role is formally created by Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham.
The St Martin site was specifically rezoned for affordable housing in the Bridging Island Plan, with the proposed development comprising 30 homes, including 12 two-bedroom and 18 three-bedroom properties.
Under the original application, the homes are intended to be transferred to Jersey Homes Trust, with 55% available for affordable purchase and 45% for social rent.
The scheme also includes a small number of homes for elderly, low-income parishioners through arrangements involving the Sir David Kirch Trust.
The appeal was considered by independent planning inspector Nigel McGurk, who concluded that the committee’s principal reason for rejecting the application – highway safety – could be satisfactorily addressed.
In his report, Mr McGurk found that improvements to visibility at the site’s northern access onto La Rue des Buttes would provide a safe means of access, despite earlier concerns about the junction with La Grande Route de St Martin.
He also concluded that the development would deliver wider benefits by improving conditions for pedestrians and other road users through new footpaths and access improvements.
Having accepted the inspector’s findings, Senator Boleat granted planning permission, subject to planning conditions and the completion of a planning obligation agreement.
The proposal had originally been refused on three grounds, relating to highway safety, foul drainage information and parking provision.
However, the inspector dismissed concerns over parking, concluding the scheme exceeded the Island’s residential parking standards, while also finding that drainage issues could be dealt with through planning conditions.
Mr McGurk said the main issue was whether the development would have an unacceptable impact on highway safety.
His report noted that the development brief for the allocated housing site had originally envisaged direct access onto La Grande Route de St Martin.
However, negotiations with neighbouring landowners, including the adjacent church, failed to secure the land needed to deliver that option, leading the applicant to develop an alternative access arrangement entirely within the site boundary.
The approved scheme includes two separate vehicle entrances from La Rue des Buttes – one at the northern end and one at the southern end – which are not connected internally.
The design is intended to prevent the development from becoming a through-route for traffic while encouraging lower vehicle speeds. New pedestrian routes, landscaped open space, and a central communal green also form part of the development.
Planning documents submitted with the application describe the site as being within walking distance of St Martin’s primary school, parish hall, shops, community facilities and bus stops, with the development designed around a landscaped public open space.
In recommending approval, the inspector also highlighted the wider context of Jersey’s shortage of affordable housing, noting evidence presented during the appeal that the Island remains significantly behind its target for delivering affordable homes on sites allocated under the Bridging Island Plan.
