Delancey neighbours detail their objections
TWENTY people living near the Pointues Rocques development site at Delancey raised concerns about pedestrian safety, preservation of wildlife and habitats and flooding risk at yesterday’s open planning meeting.
Francis Snoding raised concerns about flooding. He lives in the home next to the Swallows, a property due to be demolished to make way for an entry point for the proposed housing complex, which would have seen 68 homes built, including 10 flats, 10 maisonettes and 16 affordable homes.
‘My garden is of a similar length and is on the same slope that you can see on the plans. It gets saturated in winter and we’ve lost trees due to sodden lands,’ he said.
Recently the garden was flooded ankle-deep after a spell of bad weather, and Mr Snoding said ‘the flood risk is real’.
St Sampson’s douzenier Leonie Le Tissier said extra traffic flow would mean parents were less inclined to walk the distance from their homes in the parish to the schools in the area.
‘When I look after my granddaughter we have to cross at the traffic lights at the Saltpans, or cross over at Rue de Bas to take her to Butterfly Playschool.
‘The extra traffic will increase the possibility of an accident and we will have to travel everywhere by car, which is ridiculous when we live in the neighbourhood,’ she said.
Issues were also raised by the St Sampson’s douzaine itself, which asked how much over-capacity a road had to be before being recognised as such by the authorities.
Planners had claimed that all residents in the surrounding area of the development site had given consent for the work to be undertaken, which some residents have denied.
Delancey Conservation Committee member Sarah Wyatt said: ‘In 2019 they said a declaration of consent from all landowners was given which is not true.’
She claimed that the plans were later adjusted, meaning consent was not required for the works to go ahead.
‘It’s been earmarked for housing for 20 years and that’s 20 years to obtain consent, and we are not sure that they have,’ she said.
In order to clear the site, very large vineries will have to be demolished, which long-term resident Andrew Carre said would be a waste of resources.
‘If all the glass from the vinery was placed in Delancey Park, you would only see glass and not grass,’ he said.
‘It is one of only three vineries left on the island growing food, and in 2016 the vinery shareholder said he expected it to become more profitable and that Guernsey growing could see a resurgence post-Brexit,’ said Mr Carre.
The only representors supporting the proposals were Guernsey Housing Association chief executive Steve Williams, Peter Falla and Doug Langlois from architects PF+A, and Advocate Andrew Laws, as a legal adviser representing the planning applicant, who referred to the need for more affordable housing in the island and that the land had been prioritised as a housing allocation site since 2016.
