PERMISSION to demolish another long-standing St Helier hotel could be given next week when a Planning Committee meeting takes place.
In 2020, Dandara submitted plans to replace the Apollo Hotel with 78 apartments, and the scheme has now been recommended for approval by planning officers.
At the time, the establishment’s owner, Lawrence Huggler, said the Apollo would continue operating until at least 2023 but that the building was nearing the end of its operational life.
The hotelier, who also owns The Club Hotel and Spa, said at the time of the announcement that he still believed in the Island’s tourism industry and was actively seeking sites and opportunities to develop boutique hotels and self-catering units.
If permission is given for the hotel’s demolition, it will join a growing list of hotels which have disappeared from the Island’s holiday brochures in recent years.
Just down the road from the Apollo, demolition crews are currently working to strip out the Mayfair Hotel before its replacement with 201 apartments.
And further west, the former Revere and Stafford hotels, together with their adjoining restaurants, are to make way for 106 flats. Plans have also been submitted to replace the Savoy Hotel, which remains open and trading, with 56 homes.
During the same meeting, the committee is also due to review an initial refusal of permission to build a rooftop pergola on top of a St Martin house which is situated within the Coastal National Park.
The architects for the home, which is located above La Coupe, say the addition would ‘complement the existing architecture’ of the art-deco-style building.
However, the National Trust for Jersey have objected, saying the proposals are contrary to the Island Plan policy and could lead to further incremental increases in the building’s size over time.
The Planning Committee is due to meet over two days, beginning at 1pm on 9 March, at St Paul’s Centre. The second part of the meeting, which includes the Apollo and La Couple applications, begins at 9.30am on 10 March. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting to observe.
