The Planning Committee yesterday voted 3-2 in favour of the application from the owners of the Portelet Bay Café, who say the bank at the back of their business has repeatedly collapsed since they bought the site in 2014.
Their plans attracted several objections related to the impact of the changes, such as the effect on parking in the area and the surrounding environment. This included criticism from Portelet Bay Management, which oversees the 46 apartments and seven houses on the headland above the bay. Some residents also raised concerns about an increase in traffic and noise pollution on the basis that the new terrace would draw more customers to the beach.
Addressing the committee, resident of the area Tracey Du Val said: ‘We felt quite happy to have a beach café as a neighbour. However, since moving in, the level of noise and disturbance of people either going to, or leaving, has increased year on year.
‘Due to the very limited amount of parking on La Rue Voisin, we have experienced, on many occasions, illegal parking – and also motorists, walkers and horse riders all trying to enter and exit La Rue Voisin while only being able to use one side of the road.’
Constable Philip Le Sueur, who chairs the committee, said: ‘I absolutely applaud the efforts that the new owners have made. Beach cafés and their retention is vitally important for locals and tourists alike. The way that the applicants have managed this site, I think, deserves full credit.’
But he said he would be voting against the plans because he felt the deck would be too high.
‘If this had come before us with the deck set down 900 millimetres below the ridge, so that the tables and some of the diners would have been obscured, then I would have given it a thumbs up,’ he added.
However, Planning Committee members Deputies Steve Luce, Mary Le Hegarat and Kirsten Morel all voted to approve the application.
Alexandra Ostroumoff, who runs the café with her husband, Piers, said she was ‘relieved, exhausted and emotional’ following the application’s approval.
She added: ‘We are looking forward to doing the work that we need to do to protect the land.’
Mrs Ostroumoff added that the parking issues were ‘unfortunate’ but they were not the café’s responsibility.
‘We have a Sustainable Transport Policy which we continue to push – which is the way forward. It wouldn’t be right to be pushing for car park use,’she added.
When asked about Mr Le Sueur’s concerns, Mrs Ostroumoff said: ‘We would like the customers who sit there to be able to have a view of the bay. If it is lower, they don’t want to be sitting and looking at tiles. It will be discreet; it will be a wooden fence and we will be mindful with any parasols – it will be a managed area which is of benefit to those using it. They will gain a world-class view that they wouldn’t get if it was lower.’
