Earlier this year, Senator Sam Mézec successfully lodged a proposition calling for the government to ‘maximise’ the proportion of homes deemed ‘affordable’ in the planned development on the site of the former Planning Offices at South Hill.
The Jersey Development Company has recently said that a minimum of 23 of the proposed 150 eco-friendly homes would be ‘affordable’.
Senator Mézec said the plans did little to address the housing crisis, ‘where many thousands of Islanders are in rental stress and families are losing hope of ever getting onto the housing ladder’.
He added: ‘To now find out that they are proposing as little as just 15% of the homes for affordable purchase shows that they are not taking this issue seriously and are prepared to squander yet another opportunity to make a difference.
‘The government’s proposed Bridging Island Plan is projecting the development of just 1,500 “affordable” homes in the next four years, which is half of what we know we need today. Their lack of ambition on housing is failing Islanders and must be addressed.’
Senator Mézec, a former Housing Minister, has called on the government to bring forward ‘a more ambitious proposal’ to deliver affordable homes on the site.
The latest House Price Index showed that the average cost of properties in the Island rocketed last year, reaching £629,000 – compared to £574,000 for the previous quarter and £532,000 a year earlier. A Jersey home now costs, on average, two-and-a-half times more than in the UK and almost £200,000 more than in Guernsey.
Separately, Senator Mézec has lodged a proposition calling for a vote of censure on the Council of Ministers for ‘their failure’ to implement an amended proposition he brought earlier this year which required the government to publish a report by the end of April outlining what guidance it had given to the JDC to maximise the proportion of affordable homes in Waterfront redevelopment proposals.
The redevelopment includes the delivery of 1,000 homes. Senator Mézec said that as of Wednesday, the government had not responded. His proposition is due to be debated by the States when they return on 14 September.
