PLANNING officers have recommended that the owners of a shuttered restaurant at La Pulente should not be allowed to convert the site into self-catering accommodation for tourists.
In a report on the project seen by the JEP, officers say that the Planning Committee should reject the project at its meeting next Thursday. It also reveals that the scheme, which would see the former Nude Dunes restaurant become a short-term tourist let, received 114 objections.
A former toilet block sold by the States for just £100,000 in 2014 and now thought to be worth over £3.5 million, Nude Dunes opened in June 2023 and shut its doors barely five months later in November 2023 when the company went bankrupt with significant debts to suppliers.
The JEP first broke the news in July that the site’s new owner had not been able to find a buyer or operator for the restaurant since it closed and wanted to have it converted to a tourist let.
Under the plans, the dining area of the restaurant would be converted into two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen, a bathroom and an office space.
The outdoor terrace would also be part of the self-catering accommodation, which would be let during the summer months, while the kitchen and terrace to the north of the building would become a café, separate to the self-catering unit, and the public toilets – which have been closed since November 2023 – would be reopened and maintained.
Among the objections to the scheme were arguments that the original 2016 permission for the restaurant that became Nude Dunes was an exception to planning policy, as it would be open to the public. The new plans would result in the building being enjoyed by a “privileged few”.
Others suspected the application was a stalking horse for its conversion into a private dwelling, which has happened in other sites nearby. It was also argued that the owner’s claim that the property could not be sold was because an unrealistic price was being asked for it.
“The planning system is not there to compensate an investor who stands to lose money,” another objection reads.
A total of seven people wrote in support of the project, arguing that the Island had lost visitor beds in recent years and this would be an excellent location for a holiday let, and that it was a sensible and practical solution for a restaurant that was clearly not financially viable.
In their findings, planning officers dismissed the owner’s claim that they could not find a buyer for the site as a restaurant at a realistic or market price, arguing that “it is not the role of government – and, in this instance, the planning system – to mitigate the financial losses of a private investor”.
“From the department’s perspective, it seems likely that there would be a willing buyer for the premises, were the asking price to be reduced, and on that basis, we have to conclude that the premises are not redundant,” the report says.
Officers also said that the applicant failed to demonstrate that there was no market demand for the continued use of the premises as a restaurant, and that while the 2022 Bridging Island Plan did support the conversion of disused buildings into tourist accommodation, the exception only applied where the existing use of the building was no longer viable.
“The establishment of a new use which would be less widely available to the general public is not considered to be in the wider community interest,” the report states.
The Nude Dunes site has a long and chequered history. In 2007, permission was given to convert the toilet block at La Pulente into a café but the work was never carried out.
It was later sold to property developer Frank Laine, and then purchased by Nude Food in January 2023 for £1.5m. In details of the deal posted on Facebook, it was claimed that the building would attract a passing rent of £210,000 a year and was worth £3.5m.
Announcing the new restaurant in 2023, Ms Morris said the venue would be open seven days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and would have a “beach-club vibe” with a decor that included lots of natural colours, rattan furniture and a Mediterranean-inspired mosaic floor.
A popular nearby kiosk, The Hideout, used to be based close to the toilets but moved further down the slipway access road when work to redevelop the building began. It was forced to close in October 2023 after a battle with the parish of St Brelade over its lease.
At the time, Constable Mike Jackson said that The HideOut was meant to operate only until the Nude Dunes restaurant was open. The owner of the café, Karl Sutton, described his dispute with the parish as a “David and Goliath battle” which he did not want to repeat.
In November 2023, Ms Morris and Mr Lowe said that they had run out of funding and that both the Nude Food outlets would be closing.
“We have been working tirelessly to secure further investment into our companies, to support our cash flow, and enable us to pay our team and importantly our longstanding suppliers.
“It is with great sadness that we have been unable to secure the investment needed from our financial partner and as a result we have been forced to make the difficult decision to cease trading with immediate effect.”
The couple expressed “our deepest apologies for the impact this may have” on businesses they had worked with, adding: “We are so very sorry that it has come to this. We have done everything in our power to avoid this situation.”
