Claire Simon, who owns Val de la Mare Farm in St Peter, said that she had previously had applications to allow motorhomes to stay at the site turned down, despite having ample facilities in place they could use.
And with calls growing for the authorities to designate more sites for campervans following the clamp-down on them using Le Port car park two years ago, she is now looking for political support for her plans.
‘Five years ago we tried to get planning permission for a campsite at the same time as we asked for self-catering units,’ she said.
‘We went to a planning meeting and they threw us out. We went back and got the self-catering passed. They said we were a bit too close to the Airport and in the national park, but they just don’t really seem to be interested in us letting out for a campsite. We’ve got all the facilities you need here – a games room, kitchen, showers, toilet, washing machine, waste water – everything.’
She added: ‘They said make sure for the next Island Plan that you get hold of a politician that wants to put this in the Island Plan. But then we got to the next one and no one really ever answers any of our emails.
‘It’s needed and we’re in the area that everyone would like to be in. We always stated that we want to attract locals. We live in such a beautiful part of the Island – you’ve got the incredible sunsets and everything down here – and we want to share that with people that live in Jersey but don’t have the opportunity to go away.’
Ms Simon’s comments come after pub chain Randalls announced they would be interested in allowing campervans to stay overnight in some of their car parks around the Island.
Plans to develop more sites for campers are back on the political agenda, with the Constables’ Committee due to discuss the issue at its next monthly meeting on 12 April.
Two years ago Senator Steve Pallett successfully lodged a proposition calling for more sites to be assessed across the Island, following the closure of Le Port to campervans, and for proper regulations to be introduced.
St Peter Constable Richard Vibert said that he was ‘very much in favour’ of both Ms Simon and Randalls’ proposals and better regulation of campervan usage.
‘We need to give people options so we are not going to have too much pressure on any one site or facility and so we don’t have any great impact on the public,’ he said.
‘Some of the non-motorhome-using public have a perception, because of Le Port, that it’s all white vans with a mattress in the back. We’ve got to move on from that, because if this is going to be successful we’ve got to have something that the public are happy with.’
