Plans to build 59 supported-living homes in a field beside Haute Vallée School have created fears over pupil safety, traffic chaos and disruption to learning – with the school’s headteacher warning the development could put young people at risk.
Haute Vallée headteacher Stuart Hughes said the controversial proposal for Field H1219 would introduce “another obstacle” into what he described as an already dangerous and congested route used daily by hundreds of students.
Developer Dandara recently put in a planning application for the St Helier field – which was rezoned by the States Assembly in 2022 for supported housing – specifically to provide fully accessible homes for people with disabilities.
But Mr Hughes’ concerns centre on the proposed access point, which would sit close to a busy zebra crossing on St John’s Road.
“I have significant concern that the proposed entrance… introduces additional risk to young people as they come to or leave the school,” he wrote, adding that the crossing had only been installed after previous incidents involving students.
The school serves nearly 700 pupils, many of whom walk to and from the site, he said.
Mr Hughes warned that placing a new junction so close to the crossing – where parents already park and traffic regularly backs up – was “counterintuitive” and would worsen conditions for children navigating the area.
“The area near the zebra crossing is particularly hazardous. Hundreds of students are required to navigate a narrow pinch point where the pavement is insufficient, parked vehicles obstruct walking space, and the volume of traffic far exceeds what the road was originally designed to handle,” he explained.
The headteacher warned the development could bring around 200 additional residents and a “substantial increase in daily vehicle movements”, compounding existing pressures.
Vehicles already mount pavements, he said, forcing pupils into the road, while large numbers of students converge on a junction “already congested and poorly configured for safe pedestrian movement”.
Mr Hughes also warned of significant disruption to education. With classrooms located just 25 metres from the site, he said a construction period of up to two years would expose pupils to “sustained noise and disruption throughout the school day, including during examinations”.
Even if work were scheduled around holidays, he cautioned that the scale of the build meant a “negative educational and environmental impact” was inevitable.
“I feel I have no choice at this time but to formally object to this application in its current form,” he said.
Mr Hughes urged planners to rethink the scheme – including relocating access away from St John’s Road and considering a comprehensive plan for the entire field that better integrates the school and wider community.
His concerns come amid a growing wave of public opposition to the project, with almost 60 comments now lodged against the application.
St Helier North Deputy Inna Gardiner is also among those who raised serious concerns about road safety and the reliability of traffic data submitted with the application.
She warned the surrounding junctions were already “high-conflict areas” with a history of collisions involving pedestrians, including children, and said additional traffic movements could intensify risks.
Deputy Gardiner also questioned whether traffic surveys underpinning the application were valid, noting they were conducted during a period of roadworks that disrupted normal patterns and may have led to overly optimistic conclusions about impact.
She argued the scheme had not been properly assessed alongside other major developments in the area, including the new hospital, warning that “the precautionary principle must apply” given its proximity to a school.
And in a post on social media, fellow St Helier North Deputy Max Andrews said he was aware “several constituents are dissatisfied” with the scheme, highlighting concerns about the entrance being close to the zebra crossing and fears that increased traffic could delay emergency vehicles.
