The site, which was part of the former prison, has been used for parking in recent years.
St Peter Port constable Dennis Le Moignan said the douzaine’s objection was to the design.
‘We’ve got no problem with a development being there, but the design in not sympathetic to surrounding buildings and it will stick out like a sore thumb,’ he said.
The douzaine believed the design was insensitive to iconic structures, like St James, the Royal Court and Bonamy House, and the scale would not complement nearby or adjoining properties and the site demands design of the highest order.
‘This application was the subject of lengthy pre-application discussions, and has evolved significantly as a result of that process,’ the permission report stated.
‘Notwithstanding the objections that have been received, it is recommended that planning permission be granted.’
Marguerite Holdings is behind the the project.
Development must begin within three years or the permission will expire.
The application site comprises a vacant plot of land left over from demolition of the former prison in the early 2000s.
The States archaeologist said the area appeared as an undeveloped walled area adjacent to the prison on the town map of 1843.
‘This area was still empty on the Ordnance Survey map of 1898, but by 1938 it contained three buildings on a NE/SW alignment and had evidently been incorporated into the prison property,’ he said.
‘A small extension was added to one of the most westerly of these buildings before 1963, and then at some point before 1979 the existing buildings were enlarged and another building constructed on a NW/SE axis at the back of the site (against the west wall). These buildings remained until demolition on the early 2000s.’
It is possible that areas of archaeological interest survive within the site so the archaeologist recommended that an archaeological watching brief be carried out during the early stages of the development.
The land had been owned by the States, but was sold last year for £1.1m.
It is understood the site is owned by Comprop. The company has been approached for comment.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.