Island could get its first drive-through takeaway
OATLANDS Village may offer a drive-through takeaway service if plans are accepted by the Development & Planning Authority.
Two other separate applications hope to repurpose the former Jungle House building to a nursery/preschool/creche and install 10 solar panels.
Co-owner Chris Coles said they would create extra employment.
‘The application for what has been described by some as Guernsey’s first “Drive-Thru” is for an order point in the main car park, a small timber structure to match the existing style and a collection hatch,’ he said.
‘It is not an application for the take-away business itself which was started during the lockdown closure and is, in planning terms, ancillary to the existing business.’
Drive-through customers would order at a proposed ordering point in the car park, then turn left out of the car park to collect food from a proposed ancillary kitchen servery on Oatlands Lane.
Orders would be submitted through a touch screen or to someone in a booth.
Customers will wait in the car park until their order number is displayed, then drive to the open play area barn for collection.
Food will be dispensed through a servery window before customers leave again on Oatlands Lane.
From the lane, customers can loop round on Epinelle Road back to Les Gigands Road, or go through Les Sauvages or Duveaux Lane. Takeaway services will be secondary to the existing cafes at The Kiln and Oaty and Joey’s.
‘The children’s nursery will be in the former redundant Jungle House building, the refurbishment of which is nearing completion,’ said Mr Coles.
‘There are long waiting lists for the highest quality nurseries.’
The planning application details minor alterations to allow sufficient daylight, outdoor space and privacy for the building enclosed within the village, including installing a wheelchair ramp and toilet.
A potential tenant has already been secured, who reportedly has support from Education toward the change of use.
Solar panels would provide eight kilowatts of power, and involve two rows of 1016mm by 1996mm units.
Consultation ends for the drive-through takeaway on Wednesday 18 November, and ends for the nursery and solar panels on Friday 27 November.
Visit: gov.gg/liveplanningapplications and open the ‘Oatlands’ options for more information.
Oatlands neighbours have safety concerns
SAFETY is the top concern of residents should plans be passed for Oatlands Village to install a drive-through takeaway.
Drivers who speed through the one-way as a shortcut to Route Militaire already cause problems, residents said.
‘We did put a letter in – the biggest concern is all the traffic coming this way,’ said Mike Collis.
‘We’ve been here 28 years and somebody is going to get killed on that corner. I don’t want to be a party pooper but we don’t want this on our back door. It seems that our lane gets attacked all the time. It’s safety that’s the issue. We have horses along here twice a day, children on their bikes, bikes speeding from the other way.’
Mike Crowther said: ‘It’s ridiculous. Haven’t we got enough takeaways already? This is – or was – a nice lane. I never objected when they wanted to turn this [an adjacent vinery] into a museum, or an area for horse training. But this is a terrible idea. Everybody is saying the same.’
Cyclists zip around corners on the cycle path, he said, which is dangerous for them as residents exit driveways blind.
‘There’s going to be an accident on this corner one day. When they made it a one way it improved, but now people speed through. I’m not normally one to object to anything, but my wife will write a letter.’
Opening hours away from peak times may ease congestion.
Andrew Falla said: ‘I think the takeaway’s supposed to open between 5pm and 10pm, so with it being that time of day it should work. We won’t have school kids or horses coming through.
‘I use their takeaway service now and enjoy the food very much.
‘Having it as a drive in eliminates the problem of people littering.’
Another anonymous resident was worried about what would happen if Braye Road is closed for roadworks, as the lane gets backed up.
They said the whole purpose of making it a one-way was to keep schoolchildren safe: ‘If there are more schoolchildren at St Sampson’s with a smaller school model, on top of the vineries being used as industrial sites and a drive-in, it would be chaos.'
