Deputies agree with planners on glamping site in St Peter’s

There was a large number of objections from neighbours and the parish douzaine over possible traffic and noise at the proposed site on Rue des Paysans au Val, near La Houguette School.

But of the five members of the Development & Planning Authority committee, only Deputy Lester Queripel voted against the scheme, with his issue being over traffic in the narrow lanes.

The permission will allow applicant Danny Barnes to the change of use of the field to allow a glamping site to be created.

Six safari tents will be allowed on the upper part of the field, which would be taken down in the winter. The service block will be built on the east of the site to house a shop and plant, as well as a small parking area. A swimming pool is also proposed.

At the open planning meeting held at Beau Sejour yesterday, the audience heard how the St Peter’s site had not been used for agriculture in more than 40 years, and in recent years it had been used for processing compost, which is an industrial use.

A dozen objections were received, with concerns centred around traffic, the effect on wildlife and tranquillity of the area and how waste would be dealt with. The planners recommended the scheme be approved.

Julian Pentland, from the planning service, said they felt the development was proportionate and that the development would not have an adverse affect on the area.

He highlighted that the permission would come with conditions that would mean the tents would have to be down between 31 October and 1 March each year. They would also ban the use of PA systems.

Geoff Willson has lived next door for 32 years. He said one of his big concerns was traffic. While the plans state the lane outside is 4m wide, Mr Willson said he had measured it and in places it is under 3m, meaning there was no way for cars to pass. This would force cars to reverse back onto the main road.

He was also concerned about the plant room.

‘The likelihood of constant noise intrusion 24/7 will spoil the tranquillity of the area,’ he said.

Gloria Dudley-Owen has lived nearby for nearly 20 years. As well as herself, she also made representations on behalf of 10 other nearby residents, who were also against the scheme. One of the concerns was where the sewage carts would collect from the cesspit, as anything stopping in the lane would block it completely. The site owners had proposed to use a track at the south of the field, but Mrs Dudley-Owen said this was too steep and in too bad a state to be safe for a full cart.

She also raised worries about noise from the tourists and said it would fall to residents to deal with noisy visitors, as the site would not be staffed at night.

Another neighbour, Robin Barnes, [no connection to the applicant] said having a pool there would lead to lots of noise.

The project architect Peter Falla countered these arguments, stating that there were around 20 traffic movements from the site every day currently, so converting it to a glamping site would not see an increase in traffic.

He said it was important that States supported businesses.

‘We need to diversify the economy and we tick those boxes,’ he said.

Following the decision a DPA spokesman said they had taken on board neighbours’ worries and put extra conditions on the approval. These included getting details on how sewage would be disposed of, limiting the swimming pool’s hours of operation and ensuring suitable recycling facilities will be available on site.

n The decision notice with all the conditions will then be available to view at www.gov.gg.