Jonathan Ruff wants to demolish the complex at Retreat Farm – which was previously the Island’s largest indoor growing operation – to create a mix of 27 two- and three-bedroom self-catering units.
Last week Environment Minister Steve Luce announced that an independent planning inspector from the UK would be asked to head a public inquiry into the proposals, rather than it being decided by the Island’s Planning Committee.
Deputy Luce said he was taking this course of action because Retreat Farm – which is on the border of St Lawrence and St Mary – is in the Green Zone, where there is a presumption against development, and if the development were to go ahead it would be a significant departure from the Island Plan.
‘I think Steve Luce has made the right decision,’ Mr Ruff said. ‘We need to bring someone in from outside.’
The proposals have been presented to Planning as a ‘green site’ holiday village of eco-friendly, single-storey fixed lodges. If given the go-ahead, the lodges will be timber-clad and have green ‘living’ roofs planted with seeds and grasses. It is also proposed that each lodge would have its own private outdoor amenity space and that the overall site would be planted with trees and plant species to encourage wildlife.
The application has the backing of Visit Jersey. The tourism body’s chief executive, Keith Beecham, has previously said the scheme would have a positive effect on the visitor economy by adding more beds and providing 12 new jobs in the hospitality industry.
Mr Ruff said that, while he expected there to be objections, he had a favourable response overall from nearby residents when he invited the public to view the plans.
‘There are always going to be objections to things like this but the Island’s economy is going to have to grow and things like this will help it to diversify,’ he said. ‘We have to move with the times. I am not going to build skyscrapers here.’
Although Retreat Farm is in the Green Zone, Mr Ruff says it is a major light industrial site that because of the costs, would never be returned farmland, so it could end up being replaced with houses.
‘What we are trying to do with it is to create more greenery with landscaping for visitors to enjoy,’ he said. ‘We have got a fantastic attraction around it and Planning can see the quality of what we have done at Tamba Park and this is going to be precisely of the same quality.’
