A THIRD attempt to turn the former Nude Dunes restaurant into a holiday let has been refused – with both a member of the Planning Committee and the building’s owner agreeing it should never have been built.
Since the closure of the La Pulente restaurant in 2023, the building has been the focus of a long-running dispute over its future.
In 2024, hundreds of Islanders took to St Ouen’s Beach to oppose plans to turn the coastal site into self-catering tourist accommodation, while repeated attempts to create a new use for the building have been knocked back.
Owner Nadia Miller was applying for the third time to turn the site into a self-catering holiday let, with part of the terrace occupied by a café. The new plans would have seen most of the building used as a two-bedroom let, with tables for café customers on each side.
The holiday let would have had access to part of the terrace and be separated from café tables with a two-metre-tall privacy screen.
Planning officers recommended that the development be refused, arguing it was “essentially the same” as previous applications, that the site was not accessible – going against Island Plan requirements – and that there was no indoor seating at the café.
Yesterday, the Planning Committee – a panel of politicians which considers applications – rejected the latest bid.
Speaking at the committee meeting, Ms Miller suggested people might eat on the beach or, on a rainy day, in their cars.
She said she only owned the building because she loaned £2.1 million to its previous owners. It had not been financially viable, in contrast to other restaurants in the bay that benefit from staff accommodation and a more diversified business, she said.
Hosting events at the café was “completely and utterly the way hospitality is going… It’s events-based, it’s not 365 days a year”, she said, adding: “If I could sell this building, I would have sold it by now. If I could rent it in good faith as a viable business, I would have done it by now.
“I really believe that the summer let is a viable use for the building.”
The committee heard she had tried to sell the site for over £3 million and that offers of up to £2.2 million were received. But committee chair Deputy Alex Curtis said there had been no evidence of this or any marketing in the application.
As he voted to reject the application the application, Grouville Constable Mark Labey, who sits on the committee, said: “I can’t believe this building was built in the first place. It is in the most incredibly delicate parts of the Island.”
Ms Miller, by then sitting in the public gallery, said: “Yes.”
Other panel members agreed that the Coastal National Park and a protected coastal area was “precious” and “delicate”.
Deputy Arlene Maltman added that the newest proposed layout meant the café would only have been accessible down a steep set of stairs, with no step-free access.
The Planning Committee voted unanimously to refuse the application.
