A long-awaited project to redevelop the La Folie site is not guaranteed to include returning the once-popular inn to its former use.
Ports of Jersey this week launched its search for a development partner to invest up to £100m in redeveloping the site, which has been closed since 2004 and sits between the English and French harbours.
The latest plan would see the 18th-century building restored and converted into a hotel as part of the wider Harbour Master Plan.
Ports said a market study has suggested the 3,000-square-metre site – which includes the listed pub and surrounding land – could support between 125 and 150 rooms.
Marc Clayson, Head of Ports Real Estate, explained that initial surveys of the site have taken place, indicating that it would be feasible to construct the hotel on bedrock, rather than on the quayside, while Ports of Jersey has pledged to maintain public access to the site, and to enhance the existing sporting and leisure uses of the area.
It has also been confirmed that the listed pub building, which dates back to 1725, would be refurbished after La Folie Inn closed in 2004, although it is not yet clear whether it may revert to its former use.
Mr Clayson said: “It doesn’t lend itself to being a pub – it closed for a reason, and the layout is challenging, but it is listed and will be part of the scheme.
“The hotel will obviously have a bar, but whether it’s there or not… the pub building might be a function room or event space, or possibly act as the reception area – we aren’t designers, so we are looking for an inspirational design that will work with historically sensitive buildings.”
