Thirty-seven new “affordable” homes will be built on two fields in St Ouen, after politicians unanimously backed the housing scheme.
The properties – which will be prioritised for islanders over 55 wishing to downsize – will be situated along Rue de la Croix, opposite the Jersey Hospice charity shop.
The site was rezoned for housing three years ago in the Bridging Island Plan debate.
The Planning Committee – a group of politicians who decide on major and more controversial applications – gave the proposal their backing on Thursday.
It is hoped that the new housing will free up other homes in the parish as parishioners downsize later in life.
The proposal, which was recommended for approval by planning officers, will include 25 three-bedroom homes on one field, and two cottages and ten apartments built on the other, along with parking, a communal garden and new access routes.
There will be a mix of social rental and assisted-purchasing properties within the development.
Architect Chris Wenham, from Godel Architects, argued that the “much-needed” scheme would meet both local housing needs and protect the rural character of St Ouen.
Planning Committee vice-chair Deputy Alex Curtis called it a “well-designed scheme”, while the mix of property types in the development was praised by Deputy Steve Ahier, who labelled the 25 three-bedroom homes a “wonderful thing”.
Deputy Tom Coles meanwhile said he was glad to see the provision of housing for Islanders in rural parishes, adding that the scheme would allow larger properties to be freed up in St Ouen.
Constable Mark Labey praised it as a “very good development” with his only concern being that it was a “great shame” to be losing two agricultural fields.
“I would have loved to have some fields this sandy in my days on the farm,” he said.
No one spoke against the application at the hearing and some of the discussion was taken up by what colour palette had been picked for the housing scheme.
Earlier in Thursday’s hearing, politicians unanimously voted to approve more controversial plans to build a drainage tank in a field off Rue de St Clement in St Peter, without which the St Ouen housing development, along with others in St Peter, could not have gone ahead.
The tank, to be developed on land off Rue de St Clement near Jersey Airport, would be 25 metres across and 24 metres deep – described by committee member Constable Mark Labey as a “big hole” – with capacity for 7,500 cubic metres of run-off rainwater and sewage.
Politicians heard the tank would occupy a third of the field and include six 2.8-metre lighting poles and four vents, with hedging designed to obscure the view.
Disruption during the 18-month build was a key concern for nearby residents, some of whom attended the hearing.
A statement from resident Emiko Caerlewy-Smith on behalf of 20 parishioners read out during the hearing criticised a lack of financial compensation for residents, alleging that there were insufficient safeguards in place and claiming there had been a lack of consultation with parishioners who felt “shut out”.
Residents would have to “withstand living next to a heavy construction site for at least 18 months”, the statement read.
They called for the application to be refused or deferred until further consultation and a public site visit could take place, calling it a “strategic, significant” and “highly disruptive, complex” scheme that should be held to a higher standard.
The committee heard the tank was needed due to “significant” underinvestment in Jersey’s “severely-limited” drainage network, which was now hampering development – even house extensions – in the north and west of the island.
New developments reliant on the tank include 42 homes in St Peter and 37 homes in St Ouen, on fields rezoned for “affordable” housing as part of the Bridging Island
Peter Le Gresley, from Andium Homes, said that the social housing provider was in “advance discussions” regarding 25 of the homes, while he said the Parish of St Ouen was “keen” to take on 12.
Mr Gresley described the development as a “place any of us would be proud to call home”.