A ST Brelade farm shop which was blocked from selling Jersey Royals, wonders and other Genuine Jersey goods due to what the owners described as Planning red tape will finally be allowed to do so, following a planning committee meeting on Thursday.
While officials had recommended that the Me and the Farmer shop, run by the Hackett family, should not be allowed to expand their range to include other local products, that decision was unanimously overturned by the Planning Committee.
Jenny Hackett said she was “relieved” that the proposal was finally approved.
“The impact on our business has been extensive as it took so much time to go through so much red tape to finally apply for permission to sell other Genuine Jersey products,” she explained.
When the Hackett family’s application to upgrade their busy trailer store, which originally opened two days a week, to a fuller farm shop was granted in 2020, a restriction on selling anything other than their own produce was imposed.
An architect wrote to Planning on their behalf in November to ask if Brooklands Farm would be able to sell seasonal fruit and vegetables, Jersey Dairy products, local artisan breads and homemade chutneys, jams and honeys and a planning application was submitted in January.
Islanders rallied behind them, with more than 1,000 signing a petition, while 76 added comments of support to the application, arguing that it was an important way to “support local”.
The Planning Department recommended that the application be refused.
While they acknowledged that the Island Plan contains policies supporting development of the rural economy, officers wrote in a report: “This is not the reasoning for the variation of the condition, where in this instance the desire to sell has come from customer requests.”
They continued: “The products that are proposed to be sold have no direct relevance to the site and could be sold anywhere. While this may be seen as a minor issue, it changes the principle of the original consent and we must be mindful that this type of new development would be resisted in other Green Zone areas.
“The retail unit is relatively small and was introduced purely for the products of Brooklands Farm. By introducing a range of products you would typically see in the larger farm shops such as Rondels or Holme Grown, the development detracts from its primary use and could eventually put pressure on the site to keep expanding, which is not appropriate within this Green Zone site.”
However, St Brelade Deputy Moz Scott backed the application, saying it “offers a local economic benefit to other local businesses by providing an outlet for their products close to bus stops serving one of the most popular beaches in the Island”.
The matter was recently put before the Planning Committee – a panel of politicians tasked with assessing major and contentious applications – and all agreed to approve the application, against the recommendation of officers.
