Last year the sale of St Helier House and the adjoining Westmount Day Nursery to Columbia Group in a £2.9 million deal fell through, after residents voted at a Parish Assembly in favour of revising the deal to include a ‘betterment clause’, which would have restricted the amount of profit the developer could make on the deal.
The parish had since entered into talks with Andium Homes, the government-owned social housing developer, about a deal for the building, which closed in 2017 and evacuated its 44 elderly residents after fire safety concerns were raised post-Grenfell.
In a statement, St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft announced the launch of the new partnership and an outline of the plans for the site.
‘Early discussions between the company [Andium] and the Constable have been very positive, where options are being considered which could deliver a new supply of social housing, with a percentage of the homes being placed in parish ownership in order to reinvest their capital value of the existing site,’ it says.
‘The parish hopes to use those new homes to deliver a sheltered housing scheme for parishioners.
‘Options for the redevelopment will also take full account of the current Westmount Day Nursery, and indeed include a new facility to replace the existing nursery building, providing assurance of the uninterrupted delivery of the much-valued service.’
Mr Crowcroft said further details of the plans should be brought to a Parish Assembly before the end of November.
Children and Housing Minister Sam Mézec, who opposed the sale to a private developer, added: ‘Naturally, I am keen to see more social housing being delivered, but I am equally pleased that the nursery will also play a key part in the proposals being drawn up.’
