PLANS to build nearly 70 homes and a ‘dementia and care village’ off Plat Douet Road have been rejected by the Planning Committee.
The proposals – which included demolishing disused homes, offices and a warehouse and replacing them with 66 apartments and the 127-bed ‘village’ – had been recommended for approval by the Planning Department.
But while States politicians sitting on the committee supported plans for the care home, they argued that the residential units were too small and the block nearest the road too high.
Developer Dandara had applied to demolish Canning Court, Samuel Le Riche House, a property called Arzl House and a former warehouse used by Waitrose and replace them with two blocks of 18 one-bed and 48 two-bed flats, and a three-block ‘care village’, to be operated by LV Care Group.
The committee was told that the care-village concept would be a first for Jersey, based on models successfully used in Europe. It would comprise ten independent-living units, a 57-bed dementia care home and eight units of staff accommodation, designed around a central ‘street’ complete with its own restaurant, bar, theatre and ‘town hall’.
The committee expressed support for the ‘holistic’ nature of the single application, as separate applications for the various elements of the St Saviour site had been made previously.
The committee also unanimously supported the dementia village plans and the engagement of the applicant with neighbours, including the next-door primary school, whose headteacher spoke in favour of the proposal.
However, the application was rejected by four votes to two, with committee chair Trinity Constable Philip Le Sueur and Deputy Mary Le Hegarat supporting the scheme, and Deputies Steve Luce, Tom Coles, Andy Howell and Alex Curtis voting against.
Deputy Luce said ‘I am really struggling with the height of the residential block nearest Plat Douet Road. If it came down one storey, I think the application could get over the line.’
Deputies Coles and Curtis, meanwhile, objected to the planned sizes of the flats, which they deemed too small. Deputy Howell also had concerns about the lack of play areas for children living in the apartments.
