PLANS to demolish a ‘redundant’ pumping station in St Martin and build a three-bedroom family home in its place have been criticised by the parish Constable and several residents.
Karen Shenton-Stone said the parish would be officially objecting to the planning application for a new property on Mont de Gouray.
The old pumping site is between a grade four listed building and a set of steps.
Planning agents MS Planning labelled the pumping station ‘redundant’ adding that the proposal would be a family home designed ‘to suit modern and sustainable living’.
Mrs Shenton-Stone raised concerns about infrastructure, saying that a fisherman’s cottage nearby did not have foundations, and that steps the parish manages below could be affected.
She added: ‘We can only really comment on the steps.
‘As a parish we are really concerned if they [developers] start going underneath them [the steps].
‘We don’t want permission for excavation under the steps.
‘You can’t suddenly excavate under parish steps, they are really old granite steps.’
A St Martin resident with property next to the steps also expressed concerns about potential damage, in an objection on the Planning portal.
Resident Anne Holden said: ‘To carry out works belonging to the Parish of St Martin and my property which is attached to the steps, permission must be obtained from the parish and myself to go ahead.
‘I will not be giving any permission to excavate under the steps, which are attached to my property and are 18 inches from the wall of my house, due to the likelihood of major structural damage.’
Islander Jennifer Brochet outlined the impact on Mont de Gouray as a result of the application.
She said: ‘This is a very busy and narrow road, so this development would cause noise and disturbance to all residents together with major traffic disruption, a lot less car parking spaces and safety concerns for pedestrians.’
The coastline below was reclaimed land that was once the site of the Jersey Eastern Railway, which operated between 1891 and 1929. After the closure of the railway, a new coast road was built.
