A NUMBER of States Members have backed proposals to construct a home for a well-known dairy farmer on a plot of unused land in St Martin.
The plans include building a two-bedroom property on the land to the north of Field MN685A on Rue de Champ Colin, which would act as a home for Becky Houzé, who is the co-owner of nearby Lodge Farm. Her family have farmed in the area for almost 80 years.
In a submission to the government’s Planning website, Grouville Constable Mark Labey has urged officers to approve the application.
‘We must support our rarest breed in this island, and that is our young farmers, who are on the verge of extinction,’ he said.
‘They will be providing us with our food security in the future in the case of a civil emergency and they are the last custodians of our beautiful countryside. Without them there will be no more resistance to total urbanisation,’ he added.
Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet said that Ms Houzé’s continuing farming was ‘imperative for the future of the dairy industry and the food security of the Island’.
‘It is in the interest of the Island as a whole to support those vital to the survival of the agricultural industry and those allowances permitted by Planning should be used to good effect,’ he said.
‘It is clear to me that the location of the proposal is wholly reasonable. The plot has no agricultural value. The purpose of the restriction on building on green fields is to protect land that is necessary for farming. As the proposed plot cannot be farmed, you would be hard pressed to find a more suitable plot in the area, a mere 1km from the main farmstead,’ he added.
Grouville and St Martin Deputy Steve Luce, who is also a member of the Planning Committee, said: ‘The site is not isolated on its own in the middle of the countryside, but sits alongside existing buildings. It could easily be seen as a natural extension to the existing Maufant Village envelope.
‘The site area that is the subject of this application has been a dumping ground for many decades, and its restoration to something more useful and environmentally friendly seems like an eminently sensible area.’
The application has also received letters of support from Jersey Business, the States veterinary officer and Jersey Dairy.
