THE shuttered Talana Hotel in Bagot Road is being converted into worker accommodation following a successful planning application from the Jersey Royal Company to use the site to house around 80 staff.
The company’s business unit director, Mike Renouard, said he hoped the work would be complete by the middle of January.
It follows the approval of plans seeking a change of use for the site, which was recently purchased by the potato exporter.
The Jersey Royal Company had previously explained that, following Albert Bartlett’s purchase of the business last year – with the combined operation now employing up to 300 migrant workers – there was not enough accommodation available for all of them.
But it stated that the hotel would be converted into worker accommodation to house around 80 staff.
Mr Renouard said: “We’ve started some work already.
“I would hope we would be complete by the middle of January.”
Commenting on the site, he added that it “came up at the right time”, but noted that: “They [the workers] can walk to town, there’s bus stops right outside, there’s supermarkets not far away – so for them it’s a good location as well.”
