More than half of the homes being offered to first-time buyers through a shared-equity scheme at a major new development overlooking St Aubin’s Bay have already been snapped up… before construction has even begun.
Work is now set to start on the 139-home Westward development at the site of the government’s former Planning offices at South Hill after Jersey Development Company secured sufficient pre-sales and signed a fixed-price construction contract.
As part of the planning agreement for the development, 35 apartments – representing a quarter of the entire development – are being made available to eligible first-time buyers through a Shared Equity Scheme.
JDC has now revealed that more than half of those properties have already been sold.
A further 35% of the development’s open-market homes are available to first-time buyers through JDC’s Deposit Payment Plan, which allows purchasers to reserve a property without providing a large deposit upfront.
The developer said the scheme, which has been running since 2015, has helped 117 first-time buyers onto the property ladder.
Construction now set to begin
The sales milestone comes as JDC confirmed that construction of Westward is ready to get under way.
Under the publicly owned developer’s operating protocols, it had to secure legally binding pre-sales worth at least 25% of the scheme’s total development value before construction could begin.
It has now met that threshold and entered into a fixed-price construction contract, with Legendre appointed as the main contractor. The company previously built JDC’s Horizon development at the Waterfront.
JDC chief executive Lee Henry said the start of construction represented a “welcome boost to the local construction industry”, supporting jobs while creating new homes for Islanders.
The scheme will also include improvements to the neighbouring children’s playground, which is due to close for almost three years while the development is under way. There will also be new public toilets, pedestrian crossings and routes, improved lighting and road resurfacing. The listed building on the site is to be retained and restored as part of the development.
Thomas Vandecasteele, Managing Director of Legendre, added: “We are very pleased to reach this important milestone and to continue our collaboration with JDC. It reflects Legendre’s long-term commitment to Jersey over the past 10 years, and our experience in delivering some of the most complex and demanding developments on the island.
“We also see Westward as an opportunity to continue working to high construction standards while creating further benefits for Jersey and its local community.”
