Portelet terrace ‘too far from neighbours for a valid appeal’

Portelet Cafe. Picture: JON GUEGAN

Socrates Architects, who have been contracted by the café, say that planning rules stipulate that only someone with an interest in land or resident on land within 50 metres of the application site can lodge an appeal. They question whether the person who lodged the appeal, Marcus Stone, has property within the stipulated distance.

In a letter attached to the online planning application, Nicholas Socrates, the company’s principal, says: ‘The recently registered appeal against the planning permission for the Portelet Bay Café is not valid and should not have been registered, therefore we now politely ask that this invalid appeal be removed as soon as possible.

‘Previously, we have questioned the 50m distance from Portelet Bay Management Limited-owned land (gated apartment complex and surrounding land) to the Portelet Bay Café application site.

‘If measured “on the slope” the application site is much more than 50m away. If measured on a map the application site is just within 50 metres of PBML-owned land.

‘We continue to question the validity of this appeal as we believe the true form of measurement is to measure “on the slope”.

‘If this is acknowledged the appeal is invalid.’

The plans to carry out the work at the Portelet Bay Café were lodged at the end of last year and attracted 163 public comments. Permission to proceed with the work was initially granted by the Planning Committee in June with Deputies Steve Luce, Mary Le Hegarat and Kirsten Morel all voting to approve the application.

Constable Philip Le Sueur was one of two committee members to oppose the plans. He said he felt the proposed terrace, which is planned to be situated above part of the roof of the café, would be ‘too high’.

Mr Stone has said that the application should have been refused from the ‘very start’ as the site is located in the Coastal National Park, where there is a presumption against any form of development.

He added that the committee failed to take into account ‘serious parking issues’ and noise disturbance to neighbours created by an ‘increase in the number of customers’ travelling to and from the area as a result of the building of a new terrace.

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