A REVISED planning application for a hotel complex adjacent to the Strive health club in St Peter will be submitted in early 2026, the JEP has been told.
Just over three weeks after an initial attempt to secure planning permission for a 179-room hotel including conference centre, spa and swimming pool, Strive managing director Ben Harvey said that his team was working with the government “as one team” on a fresh application.
Strive’s previous application, submitted in early August, was considered by the Planning Committee on 6 November, when members voted by four to three to back the recommendation from planning officers to refuse the scheme as a result of the scale and mass of what was proposed.
The decision sparked disappointment from several senior figures in the business sector, while Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham told the States Assembly he supported the concept of what was proposed and that he hoped that a new application for the site would be “more realistic in relation to size and scale”.
Having previously declined to comment on the verdict of the committee, Mr Harvey has now confirmed that a revised application is on the drawing board.
“Following our unsuccessful application, we have been persuaded by government to present a revised application in the new year rather than an appeal,” he said.
“Our team, headed by HD Planning along with our consultants, are working very hard in conjunction with the Planning Department and various government consultees, as one team to ensure we address the reasons for refusal.
“This will lead to a revised application being presented for consideration to the Planning Committee in February or March 2026.”
During the committee meeting held at the government headquarters in Union Street in early November, Mr Harvey said his complex, originally opened in 2021, had put Jersey on the global map following visits from international rugby teams such as the South African Springboks, England and the British and Irish Lions.
He added that Liverpool Football Club wanted to visit, but only if there was better accommodation nearby, which the hotel would provide.
Mr Harvey said that the size and scale of the building had been dictated by international hotel chains who were prepared to invest in Jersey.
However the majority of the seven States Members on the Planning Committee who considered the application agreed with grounds for refusal cited by officers, saying that the site was outside the built-up area defined in the Bridging Island Plan and would have a “harmful impact on the character of the countryside”.
The decision to refuse the initial application was slammed by Lee Madden, president of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, who described the verdict as “absolutely ridiculous” and “to the detriment of the Island, its economy and its future”.
After convening for the first time in 2026 on Thursday 15 January, the subsequent meetings of the Planning Committee are scheduled to take place on Thursday 19 February and Thursday 19 March.
