A MAJOR application for a 155-bed international chain hotel at Strive in St Peter has been recommended for approval, by the Planning Department.
An outline application by the health club to build the five-storey hotel, which would H-shaped and 18.2m high at its highest point, is on the agenda for the next Planning Committee a week on Thursday.
Although the committee, made up of ten States Members, will decide if the proposal is approved or refused on a majority basis, each application comes with a recommendation from a Planning Officer assigned to the case.
A previous application for a hotel on the site – which was a storey higher and about 10% bigger in terms of floorspace – was refused by the committee in November, in line with the Planning Officer’s recommendation.
This time, however, the same officer is recommending approval.
Giving her reasons, the officer states: “The applicant has submitted information to illustrate the proposal is justified, necessary and appropriate in its location, and this information, alongside the advice provided by colleagues in the Department for the Economy, is considered sufficient to make the strategic case for the proposal.”
She adds: “While the proposal would have impact on the open character of the area, this site is not considered as sensitive to change as other parts of the countryside, reflective of its location opposite the built-up area (the operational area of the airport).
“The applicant has amended the proposal to reduce the maximum height of the building, and this height is now similar to the maximum height of the recently-approved Gama hanger proposed to be built nearby.
“Notwithstanding, there remains some policy conflict arising from the negative visual impact this proposal will have on the character of the area.”
She continued: “In its favour, the development will expand on the range of visitor accommodation available on the Island and based on the advice of colleagues in the Department of Economy, would have a ‘significant strategic impact’ on the visitor economy […].
“This position is supported by the representations received from a number of sector-related organisations who have written in support of the proposal and highlight the alignment of the proposal with the Jersey Visitor Economy Strategy and in particular, its contribution toward maintaining airline connectivity.
“Those benefits, alongside the other benefits offered by the proposal, are considered sufficient to outweigh any visual harm that may result from the proposed development.”
The application has attracted 54 representations, including public comments, in support and ten against.
