Plans for a hotel and conference centre at Strive near the Airport have been resubmitted featuring a smaller building than the proposal that was rejected in November.
A previous planning application, which was submitted by Strive Health Club managing director, and former Jersey RFC head coach, Ben Harvey last August, had proposed a 179-bed hotel, which would have been 22.1m high at its highest point.
This was narrowly rejected by the Planning Committee, primarily because of the scale and mass of the proposed stepped building.
At the hearing two months ago, Mr Harvey said the health centre in St Peter had put Jersey on the global map following visits from the South Africa, Lions and England rugby teams.
He added that Liverpool FC wanted to visit, but only if there was better accommodation nearby, which the £55m application provided.
Now, after liaising with Planning officers with a view to addressing the concerns of the committee, Mr Harvey and his backers have returned with a new outline proposal.
This is for a hotel of 155 ‘suites’ – 24 fewer than the earlier application. There will also be seven fewer parking spaces.
The new submission states: “The scale and mass of the proposed development have been significantly reduced. Amendments include a smaller building footprint, reduced overall height and a recessed upper floor, resulting in a more appropriate and balanced form of development.”
The proposed maximum height has decreased by 3.9m to 18.2m, the building has gone down from six storeys to five, the gross internal area has reduced by almost 10% from 13,918 m2 to 12,584m2, the fourth floor has been recessed by 3m, and the north-east building mass, which faces the Airport Road, has been reduced by 3.8m.
The application continues: “The revised outline proposal represents a materially improved scheme, most notably through a significant reduction in scale and massing, which constitutes the key and most visible change.”
The submission adds that those behind the revised project believe that the other concerns of the Planning Committee have been addressed, including providing justification for building new visitor accommodation outside of the ‘built-up area’ identified in the Bridging Island Plan, and addressing issues around how vehicles will leave and join the Airport Road.