Wednesday 27 July 2022
The revised planning application for the development of housing on the site of Pointues Rocques, St. Sampson has been granted today following an Open Planning Meeting.
The Development & Planning Authority voted unanimously to approve the application. During the planning process, 125 representations were received from stakeholders and members of the public together with the 118 representations in the previous application. As well as objections, there were some expressions of support. Thirty-three of representors chose to speak publicly at the meeting. The main concerns raised included, but were not limited to:
- Traffic volumes and congestion
- Safety of vulnerable road users
- Construction impacts on neighbours
- Development in a conservation area
- Density of the development scheme
Planning permission for this latest revised application was granted with a number of additional conditions added by the Authority:
- Term-time morning peak hours restriction to be added to construction traffic management plan
- Details of landscaping along the west boundary and timing to ensure this is implemented early in scheme
- Details of element of building and boundary fencing adjacent to flats to east to be discussed with local residents of St. Clair flats
- Developer to consider playground equipment
- To consider the practicality of squaring off the layby car parking to enable additional space
- To require left and right turn signage to be implemented at access points
- For the Authority to review the developer's planting scheme to make sure trees are retained and enhanced
The Authority also considered that the car sharing scheme that the developer put forward since the previous application went some ways to mitigate traffic impacts on the area.
With approval of this application, development of 68 houses as phase one of a two phase development can proceed.
Victoria Oliver, President of the Development & Planning Authority, commented:
"The Development and Planning Authority are bound by the Development Framework that was agreed by the previous Committee. It has been an incredibly difficult decision and it was with a heavy heart that we approved the application. We had the challenging task of weighing up the application, especially the traffic impact when this partially hinges on another committee's mandate, however we will continue to work closely with our colleagues across the States to get the best out of future applications.
"With the additional conditions added by the Authority, I hope this shows that the Committee is serious about trying to enhance planning applications. With regard to the shared car parking scheme, I think that it's of benefit to try new approaches as we can't keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I hope that planning application enhances what we like about Guernsey while addressing some of the issues. The Authority and the Planning Service contribution of new houses will help young families remain on island.
We will continue to work with the developers and stakeholders to ensure that end results are improved."
