LES Quennevais precinct was once a bustling hub for the west of the Island filled with independent retailers. But now it is a shell of its former self with empty shops and run-down buildings. Megan Davies reports.
SEVERAL decades ago, the smell of fresh bread would attract Islanders from across the west to Les Quennevais Parade, where they would queue outside the bakery for some fresh bread.
A toy shop, a fishmongers, a clothes shop, visits from Father Christmas, and more made the area a thriving shopping area – a second business centre for away from St Helier that acted as the West’s main hub.
St Brelade Deputy Helen Miles remembers it as “absolutely the beating heart of the Island”.
But that is no longer the case. Many of the popular independent retailers have now gone amid high rents, the rise of internet shopping and the changing economic climate.
“Tired is an understatement”, Deputy Miles said as she discussed the eight units that now stand empty – some which have been vacant for years and some so derelict that they could not be used even if a tenant could be found.
The precinct now finds itself at the centre of two propositions lodged by Deputy Miles, which she said she did in an attempt to place some much needed attention on the west of the Island and its businesses when much of the focus is on developing St Helier.
A ‘complex’ ownership model
There are 38 different property owners at Les Quennevais Parade – but just one of them owns all of the commercial units. The 37 others own the flats above, many of them owner-occupiers.
The commercial units are owned by a company called Hightide Investments Ltd, who are based in the UK.
Parish Constable Mike Jackson said in a recent public meeting that the complicated ownership model had been “exacerbated” when former owner Kevin Leech sold the residential units. Owners in the past 25 years have included a UK property group called Kenmore, and a company called Talisman Pensions Ltd.
Talisman Properties sold the property to Hightide Investments Ltd for £2 in 2006.
Deputy Miles criticised Hightide for not seeing “tenants as business partners”.
“You should have a symbiotic relationship,” she said. “They should want to help their tenants make money. They should want to help their tenants offer a good service.
“You’ve got owners that are chasing the rent and not necessarily thinking about the broader retail offer.”
Commercial leases
Many of the commercial leases held by companies in Les Quennevais and around the Island require business owners to repair and insure the properties.
Deputy Miles said “that is a massive disincentive to people taking them” due to the condition of some of the properties.
“It’s not clear what is the landlord’s responsibility and what isn’t. Some of that will be in the lease,” she added.
Jersey leases are contract-based – which means fewer protections and Deputy Miles said several business owners approached her with worries about their leases.
“If you are a small business and you want to lease commercial property, you will need a lawyer who will review the lease, all of these sorts of things,” she said.
For those who want to challenge their conditions, legal bills rise even higher.
Deputy Miles’s second proposition looks to create a review into how commercial leases are structured and create a register of the Island’s commercial properties.
She said she is also trying to stop properties from being kept vacant for long periods of time – measures, she said, could include incentives on rates.
“I’m asking them to go off and have a think about how we do that, because that piece of work hasn’t been done,” she said.
She stressed this was a “soft” proposition, not the start of a the towards a commercial tenancy law.
“Commercial landlords are not pariahs, but at the same time, I think it’s incumbent on the government to make it slightly easier for commercial tenants to rent,” she said.
Court case
Hightide Investments found themselves in a dispute with one of their tenants, dog groomers Mucky Mutz – a case that illustrated the conditions faced by businesses in the development.
In court, Mucky Mutz said their premises had become “unfit” with mould, water coming in, and electrics that were “unsafe to operate”. The property, they said, was “in such a hazardous state that it amounts to a fundamental/repudiatory breach of the lease”.
The future
Deputy Miles’s two propositions are due to be debated in the States Assembly later this month.
Among the ideas to breathe new life into the area are a government hub, where Islanders could access services like help with taxes or the Youth Enquiry Service.
“We know we’re going to have lots of questions over tax when independent taxation comes in,” Deputy Miles said.
A future offering could include pop-ups, street food outlets, and other offerings that can’t be done through a screen.
The St Brelade Deputy said: “I’d really like to see some kind of weekly or monthly market in the precinct – we’ve got growers in the parish, we’ve got the allotment in the parish.
“We are not short of vision about what that could be.”
