TAX breaks could be given to developers to incentivise them to build certain types of housing, including accommodation for older Islanders as demand increases due to Jersey’s ageing population, the Economic Development Minister has suggested.
Deputy Kirsten Morel said Jersey was not building “anywhere near enough” smaller community developments for older people.
He highlighted the “fantastic” example of Les Maisons Cabot in Trinity Village where he said a smaller community of older people lived close to each other, “being good neighbours to each other”.
Deputy Morel questioned whether communities such as these, through their support networks, could also help alleviate social care costs.
The minister was speaking at a hearing of the Economic and International Affairs Panel, which was discussing the increasing cost of social care in Jersey due to the Island’s ageing population.
Deputy Morel added: “Is it worth providing developers with lower rates of tax – effectively ‘tax breaks’ when they build certain types of housing? So rather than just flats in St Helier, if you get a tax break for building an over-65s living community, a tax rate there would encourage them to then build that type of housing, because that becomes more profitable for them.”
The minister questioned whether other government departments could work with Treasury “to look at a more nuanced way of using the tax system to encourage certain types of behaviours in the private sector”.
“It’s not something Jersey is used to,” admitted Deputy Morel.
Jersey Homes Trust recently highlighted a “growing need for accessible and supportive housing options in our community”, in a supporting letter for a planning application for an assisted-living bungalow in the north of St Helier.
“Many residents, particularly older adults and individuals with disabilities, struggle to find suitable accommodation that allows them to maintain their independence while receiving the assistance they require,” its letter read.
Plans by LV Care Group to build 42 units of sheltered housing – 38 one-bed apartments and four two-bed apartments – next to St Joseph’s Care Home, on St John’s Road, were rejected by the Planning Committee earlier this month.
The application received 166 public comments with concerns raised about the loss of existing trees and the impact of construction work.
Meanwhile, the Planning Committee last month approved a development of 37 affordable homes – for Islanders over 55 who wish to downsize – which will be built on two fields in St Ouen.
The site, on Rue de la Croix opposite the Jersey Hospice charity shop, was rezoned for affordable housing in the 2022 Bridging Island Plan and will include 25 three-bedroom homes on one field, and two cottages and ten apartments built on the other.
