Four-bed beachside house next to L’Horizon in St Brelade's Bay approved

Plot of Land next to the L'Horizon Hotel, St Brelade Picture: DAVID FERGUSON. (35425553)

PLANS to build a four-bedroom beachside house in St Brelade’s Bay have been given the go-ahead.

But Deputy Moz Scott, who chairs the St Brelade’s Bay Association, has raised concerns about further residential development in the bay, and described the decision as ‘disappointing’.

The property – including a ‘green roof’, ‘living wall’ and swimming pool – will be built on an empty plot immediately to the west of the L’Horizon Hotel.

The Planning Committee – a group of politicians who decide on major and more controversial applications – approved the two-storey development at their latest meeting. The project had been recommended for approval by the Planning Department.

The site already had three live permissions for development but a new application last year – to build a five-bedroom house with a pitched roof – was rejected because it was judged not to comply with policies in the newly passed Bridging Island Plan.

The applicant therefore went back to the drawing board to present a new scheme, reducing the proposed home’s size and scale by 6.3% and replacing the pitched roof with a flat one.

The committee was told that the site had been purchased by a local family. It is in the Island Plan’s Built Up Area – in which development is generally encouraged – but also in the Shoreline Zone, which is more restrictive.

Commenting following the approval, Deputy Scott said: ‘It is disappointing that the Planning Committee had exercised its discretion to approve an application for a large residential building with a flat roof on the seafront of St Brelade’s Bay. This is despite an amendment to planning policy brought by Constable Jackson of St Brelade and approved by the States Assembly last year to restrict further residential development in the bay.

‘There is a need for neighbourhood planning that respects the majority views of local residents and the public over the views of individual States Members and planning officers.’

Approving the application, the committee said: ‘This latest application is for an alternative form of development to the [previous] approvals, delivering reductions in overall floorspace and footprint when compared to the most recently approved new dwelling.

‘Its overall visual impact is also broadly the same.

‘On this basis, the committee is satisfied that the scale and design of the scheme is appropriate and acceptable in this location, having regard to the zoning constraints of the Bridging Island Plan, together with the planning history.

‘The concerns raised by nearby residents relating to overlooking / loss of privacy are noted. Notwithstanding these objections, the committee is satisfied that the development will not result in unreasonable harm being caused to the amenities of these neighbours.’

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