‘There is an acute shortage of homes for working families’
ARCHITECTS behind the controversial proposed housing development at Pointues Rocques near Delancey have called for neighbourhood residents to keep an open mind and consider how important the scheme was to ease Guernsey’s housing ‘crisis’.
Ken Bradley, consultant for architects PF+A, said the site had been earmarked for housing for many years and zoned as an allocated housing site in the 2016 Urban Area Plan in the Island Development Plan.
‘If you look at the island as a whole, there is an acute shortage of homes for working families.
‘Meeting that need is necessary and the only way to do that is to build more houses,’ he said.
Mr Bradley said the planned development was the first housing scheme in Guernsey to donate land to the Guernsey Housing Association – 30% of the land, valued at £1m. and equating to 16 houses.
‘We have worked hard with the association to make sure there is integration with a mix of housing across the site.
‘Nobody else has integrated affordable housing to meet the critical housing needs of the island. It is quite a lot to deny people.’
In addition to the affordable housing, the project includes 32 houses, 10 flats and 10 maisonettes with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom homes with parking.
A second phase of the scheme will add 31 more homes.
Countering objections from neighbours and the Delancey Conservation Committee, Mr Bradley said the planning process had been lengthy and vigorous, and the first phase complied with the IDP.
PF+A founder and group director Peter Falla said: ‘People don’t like development near them and that’s natural, but they [the objectors] have shut the door after the horse has bolted at this stage.
‘We listened to input from the public and the planners and have improved traffic flow by having two entrances, created off-road parking on Pointes Rocques, bought land for extra parking for the St Clair flats’ residents, protected the trees outside the site and maintained the granite wall boundaries around the site.’
He said that PF+A had gone to the traffic experts, UK-based engineering consultants Arup, and ‘they agreed the development would have a minimal impact on traffic’.
The consultation period for the development closes on 30 August.
Given the level of interest in the site, the application was likely to be the subject of an open Planning Authority meeting where each party would have the opportunity to state their case and States planners would explain why they backed the scheme.
‘We have listened to the public and the conservation committee and, as a result, we have elevated the standards of materials and design of the development,’ Mr Falla said.
‘If you ignore that you live near the site, the development has fantastic benefits.
‘The planners have been quite robust, working collaboratively with us to produce a scheme that Guernsey can be proud of.’
