The former Nude Dunes restaurant at La Pulente has gone on the rental market – but this time as a commercial premises which could see it become a shop, office, beauty salon, travel agent or other business.
The owner has successfully applied to change the use of the beachside building from restaurant to a ‘financial services shop’.
This has been done through building byelaws rather than the formal planning process. This is possible under Jersey’s ‘General Development’ legislation, which effectively allows certain development to go ahead without additional permission.
For households, for example, this includes pre-approved permission to build an extension of up to 30m².
For cafés and restaurants, another permitted right included under the island’s ‘General Development Order’ is to change from ‘Class B’ – which essentially designates a café, restaurant, visitor accommodation or other hospitality venue – to ‘Class A’ , which includes a wide range of retail and public-facing activities.
However, Nude Dunes permission, given under building byelaw permission on 27 November, specifies change of use to ‘financial services shop’.
Following this approval, the building is now being marketed as a commercial let by Le Rossignol Estates, with ‘price on application’.
The distinctive beachfront building overlooking St Ouen’s Bay has been empty since the operators of the high-end restaurant and café ceased trading in November 2023, five months after opening.
Since then, owner Nadia Miller has attempted to sell the building without success and she has also failed to get planning consent to change the use of the building to create a self-catered unit of tourist accommodation.
In a statement, Ms Miller said: “Following the dismissal of a recent Planning appeal relating to the former Nude Dunes premises, the property has now been formally repositioned with an approved Class A commercial use.
“This represents a clear and compliant shift away from all previously proposed hospitality or visitor-accommodation uses referenced in recent news coverage, and establishes a stable planning framework for the site’s future.”
She added: “While it is disappointed that the building can no longer provide public leisure access in the form of a café or restaurant – an outcome made impossible by the opposition that prevented the necessary planning approvals being secured – they have focused on ensuring that the site can be brought back into appropriate, commercially viable, and sustainable use.
“Under its new Class A designation, the property can lawfully accommodate a wide range of retail and public-facing activities, including a retail shops, beauty and wellness providers, pharmacies, travel and estate agencies, financial services outlets and other suitable client-access services.”
However, Ms Miller added: “Uses involving hot food, a café, restaurant, bar, visitor accommodation or broader hospitality activities remain outside the scope of permitted operations.
“This revised planning position provides clarity for prospective occupiers and ensures the building can be returned to productive use. The owner welcomes interest from all operators aligned with Class A use and is happy to work with prospective tenants and planning advisers to confirm suitability.
“This change of use secures a constructive, policy-compliant route forward for the site, offering businesses a distinctive and highly visible coastal premises with strong commercial appeal.”
Meanwhile, Ms Miller has applied for retrospective planning permission to keep a “temporary storage pod” on the terrace of the former restaurant in a bid to “prevent anti-social behaviour and vandalism”.
She is also awaiting the outcome of her appeal against two official enforcement notices which ordered her to remove the pod and a nearby fence, and also stop using the site for residential purposes.
The change of use to commercial forms the latest chapter in a long-running story of a former toilet block at La Pulente which the States sold to a developer in 2014 for £100,000.
The owners of Nude Food bought the building in January for £1.5m, using a £2.1m loan from Ms Miller. They subsequently put the property on the market in March 2023, conditional on leasing the property back to the Nude Food for a minimum of ten years.
However, no sale was forthcoming and Nude Food ceased trading in November 2023, having opened that June.
Ms Miller’s first attempt to change the use of the former restaurant prompted a public protest in July 2024, which was attended by up to 300 people.