John Le Bailly made the comments after proposals for the Seaside Café – which was sold by the Lewis family last year – were revealed by architectural and design company MSPlanning, and displayed at the site.
The proposals would see the existing café and accommodation replaced with a beach-themed café and separate residential unit set within a ‘dunescape’ environment, while the private car park would be reduced in size. Improvements to sustainable-transport provisions would also be made and the listed bunker would be restored to become a ‘standalone structure’.
However, the Constable said that he had received ‘many, many emails’ complaining about the proposals and that he was particularly concerned about reducing the number of parking spaces.
‘The parking issue was the first thing that I picked up,’ he said. ‘Both architect and owner did not seem concerned about it [when I spoke to them] and seemed to think that there was plenty of parking available in the above car park – which is certainly not a fraction of the amount that is required.
‘It is a disappointment to the parish on the two grounds that we are not going to have the revenue from the expected accommodation units and that we are losing a vast amount of parking.’
He added that the ‘dunescape’ environment was not in keeping with the nature of Grève de Lecq and that ‘trying to conform to something that looked like a conservation area’ was ‘total nonsense’.
‘The biggest problem, of course, is that it is a private development,’ he said. ‘This is the golden opportunity for [the] Planning [Department] to make a stand. I have contacted [the department] and told them that I am aware of the issues that are going on with it. It’s important that we discuss this before it gets planning permission. We want to get on it before it does.’
John Vautier, who co-owns Colleen’s Café at Grève de Lecq, said his primary concern was the reduced parking – and that ‘once it’s gone, it’s gone’.
‘I know it’s private car-parking spaces but let’s say, for example, they got rid of all the car-parking spaces and you’re left with the Martello Tower and the spaces by the harbour, then the beach is full,’ he said. ‘The perfect scenario would be if the States come along and do a compulsory purchase on the car park, and say “build what you want but the public need access to this beach”.’
