REVISED plans to turn part of the former Nude Dunes restaurant into self-catering holiday accommodation has not received the backing of the Planning Committee – despite arguments that the new application was “significantly” different from its predecessor.
The decision comes just over a month since Environment Minister Steve Luce upheld the Committee’s refusal of a previous iteration of the scheme, which saw hundreds of Islanders attend a protest last summer to “show support for the protection of La Pulente and the wider coastline from privatisation and overdevelopment”.
The shuttered La Pulente site was briefly home to Nude Dunes, which went bust in November 2023 just months after opening its doors.
The new application, from owner Nadia Miller, outlined plans to remodel the existing restaurant into a beach café, enclose the south-western terrace, and convert the majority of the building into a two-bedroom unit of self-catering holiday accommodation.
In a letter accompanying the revised plans, Gary Palmer of local consultancy Island Planning said the application differed “significantly” from the previous version “in
that it proposes the retention of a substantial café operation at the premises”.
But the scheme was recommended for refusal by planning officer Lawrence Davies, who said the revised proposal was “broadly similar in many respects to the first application”.
Outlining the reasons for refusal, he explained: “The applicant has failed to demonstrate that there is no market demand for the continued use of the premises for its existing daytime and evening economy use.”
He also concluded that the proposed change to a new use that would be “less widely available to the general public” was “not considered to be in the wider community interest”.
Additionally, Mr Davies noted the building’s location within the Protected Coastal Zone.
During its meeting on Thursday, members of the Planning Committee voted to refuse the scheme.
