Ian Gallichan, of Andium Homes, said that although the States had a duty to preserve many historic buildings it should reconsider the listed status of certain properties as they are unattractive and are falling into disrepair because they are too expensive to maintain.
He added that he believed that the current planning policy seemed to target the preservation of 18th-century buildings and that this was often holding up the regeneration of St Helier, which is a strategic objective of the Council of Ministers.
‘Of course one respects the need to protect historic buildings, but there are some which could be lost and a good case could be made for losing them.
‘This would enable the creation of good amenity space and better use of sites for more modern buildings. You are constrained at times by listings.
‘While you can appreciate some listings, others don’t make any sense to me whatsoever,’ said Mr Gallichan.
Two examples of listings which Mr Gallichan said that he thought were unnecessary were the Ann Street Brewery and the old Odeon cinema.
‘The Ann Street Brewery façade – what on earth does anyone want to keep that for?’
