NEW hotels need to be developed “where possible”, the Environment Minister has said following concerns about the dwindling numbers of tourist beds remaining in Jersey.
The Island has lost several hotels in recent years, including the Mayfair, Stafford, Revere and Apollo.
Deputy Steve Luce told a recent Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel hearing that bed numbers had dropped year-on-year “for a long time”, adding: “It’s time we address that.”
The minister said he would “like to see, where possible, the development of new hotels”.
Panel member Deputy Alex Curtis asked if Deputy Luce was concerned that the current Bridging Island Plan provided no specific protections for visitor economy beds, “even for our best-loved hotels”.
Deputy Luce replied: “It’s another challenging discussion that I know has been had over the years, whether a restriction should be put on hotels that they can only ever be used for hotels in the future and that’s the end of it.
“Obviously there’s precedent here, a number of precedents in recent years where hotels have been demolished and housing has been rebuilt – that in itself has led to a reduction in bed numbers.”
