Revised plans have been submitted to alter an already approved residential development at Lyndhurst Guesthouse, with the changes intended to provide larger and more practical living accommodation at the St Brelade site.
The application relates to an earlier planning approval from 2023, which granted permission for the conversion and extension of the guesthouse to create three two-bedroom homes and one three-bedroom home.
Planning officers concluded at the time that there was no policy requirement to retain the property as tourist accommodation, noting that while the Bridging Island Plan encourages new visitor accommodation, it “does not seek to preserve existing accommodation”.
The assessment report also stated that an internal inspection suggested the building, although described as a guest house, appeared to be in more permanent residential occupation.
The updated proposal seeks to amend the approved rear residential unit by reducing its ground-floor footprint, adding a first floor and making a series of internal and external alterations.
According to the accompanying planning statement, the redesign would relocate the bedrooms and bathroom to the new first floor, enlarge the kitchen and living area, and introduce internal storage space.
The applicant says the revisions have been made to “provide better accommodation in accordance with current residential space standards”.
The covering letter explains that the previously approved scheme lacked internal storage, had an undersized kitchen/living area measuring 25.6 square metres and provided only 19.4 square metres of private amenity space.
Under the revised proposal, the gross internal floor area would increase from the minimum required 84 square metres to 93 square metres, while the kitchen/living space, bedrooms and storage would all meet or exceed current standards.
Although the private outdoor amenity area would still fall short of the 50-square-metre guideline at 25.4 square metres, the applicant notes this would still represent an increase of five square metres compared with the previously approved scheme.
The plans also include secure storage for two bicycles, complete with electric charging facilities.
To create a private outdoor area for the proposed cottage, a new two-metre-high fence is proposed along the northern boundary with Villa Nuova, while existing boundary walls and fencing to the west and south would be retained.
In the application, the proposed development is described as revised plans to the previously approved scheme, involving a reduced ground-floor footprint, the construction of a first floor above the approved rear residential unit, a relocated bin store and “various internal and external alterations”.
