CAFE, restaurant and nightclub owner David Voisin is full of warm conviviality but under the surface he is somewhat miffed.
Rather than the sun rising brightly over his Bar Levant Mediterranean-themed al fresco venture in Broad Street, which has been running successfully for the past three years, a cloud has appeared over it… at least a section of it that may have to be dismantled because it was installed without planning permission.
Mr Voisin was both surprised and disappointed by his failure last week, at the planning appeal stage, to get retrospective approval to keep the glass panels, bolted-in steel balustrades and adjustable awning to the north-west of the existing bar, which operates from the former toilets by the Le Sueur obelisk, close to Colmar, which Mr Voisin also co-owns.
Planning decisions are always born out of conflicting priorities, passions and policies, which are amplified in a 45 sq mile island: one person’s business opportunity is a neighbour’s headache or perceived threat to the enjoyment of a historic building.
We’ve heard that it’s a priority for the nighttime economy to be expanded and invigorated but where’s the evidence?
Bar levant co-owner david voisin
Jersey’s plan-led system recognises this inherent tension within its policies and there was no finer example of this than last Tuesday, when Environment Minister Steve Luce upheld the decision of an independent planning inspector, who had heard Mr Voisin’s appeal.
Although Deputy Luce accepted that the principle of the proposal would “help to bring vitality to Town”, he said he agreed with inspector Sue Bell that the economic advantages would not outweigh the disadvantages, which included a loss of public space and ‘the setting of the listed buildings’ in the area.
This is despite the minister telling the Chamber of Commerce earlier this year that he would like to see economic considerations given greater weight in planning decisions.
This was noted by the inspector in her decision, but she added that “I have no evidence of the status of that statement including whether it is approved policy”.
That was a hard rub for Mr Voisin, who is now considering his next moves.
He said: “We had been advised by our consultant that we had a good chance of success so the rejection did come as a surprise. We’re now considering our options and whether we have a cause to take this to judicial review, although that comes at a high cost.
“If we’re not going to do that, we will be liaising and working with the planning team to get a scheme which everyone’s happy with.”
Addressing why the application was retrospective, Mr Voisin said that because he wasn’t the landowner – with parish owning for former toilets and the Government owning the alfresco area – there were delays because he could not apply for permission without the Government’s endorsement.
That process went on for 14 months through two planning ministers, with Mr Voisin sending in documentation multiple times. After two wet summers which heightened the need to shield customers from the elements, persisting uncertainty as to whether he needed planning permission, and advice that the scheme would probably get passed anyway, Mr Voisin erected the extra screens and awning last June.
Now, he faces the possibility of unbolting the steel posts and removing the retractable roof to return the alfresco area to how it was before.
“I was extremely disappointed at the minister’s decision,” he said. “Bar Levant has been a great success story: there’s a wonderful atmosphere there, and to be honest, we thought that is exactly what St Helier needs.
“Since the decision, so many people have come up to me in the street, expressing their anger and disappointment. Yes, there are a number of people who don’t like it, but I would say that they are in a massive minority.”
Mr Voisin said the Government needed to make a decision as to whether it wanted to put its considerable weight behind hospitality or not, and did it want a vibrant St Helier?
He said: “We’ve heard that it’s a priority for the nighttime economy to be expanded and invigorated but where’s the evidence? You can’t preserve St Helier in aspic and expect everything to be better; you need to move with the times.
“We were making very small-scale changes and not interfering with any historic buildings or their views, which was one of the grounds for refusal.
“I think we hear a lot about how politicians are looking to support the hospitality industry, but I’m not sure how much we actually see of that. In reality, we were led to believe by the minister in February that he was going to give much more weight to the economic considerations but did he actually do that here?
“Politicians say they’re supporting hospitality industry, but they’re also putting up wages all the time, and it creates a huge wage inflation spiral because as soon as you give your lowest-paid worker a 50p an hour rise, there is a knock-on effect as others, understandably, want more.
“Our staff work very hard and deserve every penny they get but a lot of that money goes overseas so I’m not sure it’s an effective policy for the Government.”
As well as Bar Levant and Colmar, Mr Voisin co-owns Bar Nautique, which was Vittoria, Quayside and Catch Fish & Chips.
He said they were all doing well, despite the challenges facing the industry.
“It is incredibly tough,” he admitted. “People don’t eat and drink out in Jersey like they used to and I think a lot of that stems from habit changes over the covid period.
“In the old days, people were out in Jersey more than once every week, on average, but that’s no longer the case. We’ve also got duty increases on alcohol, wage inflation and, generally, the cost of doing business in Jersey has got very, very high. Unfortunately, there are going to be a lot of casualties in our sector.”
In terms of potential remedies, Mr Voisin said some moderation on the minimum wage would help.
“Out of 130-odd staff, we’ve got maybe three on the minimum wage but it still has a knock-on effect so I would urge politicians to think very carefully before raising it. We’d also love to see a drop in alcohol duty too and more money in the Visit Jersey budget to boost visitor numbers.
“We hear positive noises from the Government but those noises need to be backed up with action. We are allowed now to promote alcohol sales, which is positive but it’s a double-edged sword because alcohol is so expensive for us to buy that I’m loath to give it away.”
He added: “I love Jersey, and I enjoy the industry, but I do get disillusioned sometimes, particularly over the last couple of weeks. But I’ll continue to invest and support Jersey by doing all I can to create a bigger and more successful business.”
Mr Voisin opened Colmar in June 2022, returning to his hospitality roots after a quarter of a century in the trust industry. After school and a couple of years working in the Island, he studied hotel management at Westminster College before returning to Jersey to run a hotel at First Tower. However, the lure of finance then prevailed.
“It’s great to be back doing this but it’s one of those jobs which is sometimes the best in the world and sometimes the worst in the world,” he said.
“It could be a lot better if it became simpler to make positive changes which are both good for business and good for the Island as a whole. Take Broad Street, for example: of course, I have a vested interest but I’d love to see Broad Street turn into a food and entertainment hub.
“It could turn into a really attractive town-centre square with lots of food and beverage businesses, with a special continental atmosphere. I certainly support the Constable of St Helier’s plan for a Town Council because it would be a far better way to get things done.
“Anything to make the system simpler has to be welcome.”
