NO progress has been made in developing disused care facility Aviemore since it was sold to the public’s developer earlier this year.
In February, the States of Jersey Development Company bought the site for £1.3m – which was less than half the £3m it was initially advertised for.
Aviemore had previously hosted residential care for Islanders “with learning disabilities who have the most complex needs and are in crisis”.
But the site, located in St Martin next to Haut de la Garenne, has stood empty since a phased closure that started in 2021 after it was linked to an allegation of child abuse.
It came after the the Jersey Care Inquiry heard in 2017 that staff had assaulted young Islanders with disabilities.
In the States Assembly yesterday, Deputy Alex Curtis asked the Treasury Minister to outline what progress had been made by the JDC since it acquired the Aviemore site in February.
In response, Deputy Elaine Millar explained that work on the disused care facility had not yet began as the JDC was awaiting supplementary planning guidance.
“It would be imprudent to begin advancing plans and incurring costs without the benefit of the planning guidance, which is still awaited,” she explained.
“This guidance will identify the key planning issues that are specific to this site, and will seek to provide guidance in order that those issues might be appropriately addressed when the site is brought forward for development.”
She added: “My understanding is that the JDC can’t begin the work without the planning guidance.”
