Housing plans concerns lead to drop-in attendance soaring
WORRIES about traffic around the proposed new housing plans for Pointues Rocques are continuing to grow, as about 50 parishioners turned out for a packed St Sampson’s parish drop-in on Saturday.
The monthly drop-ins usually attract only a couple of people, wanting to talk to the constables and douzeniers about local issues.
But a revised planning application for 68 homes on the former vinery site off St Clair Hill has again sparked widespread concerns.
Previous planning proposals have faced issues with traffic, as the site is bounded by narrow roads on three sides.
The latest plans includes suggestions that some of the roads around the site could be made prohibited streets, meaning they could only be used by residents or for access. There are also other traffic-reducing measures, including a reduction in car parking, in a bid to get residents to look at other options.
But these moves do not seem to have allayed their fears.
Paul Watts lives close to the site and said traffic was a big concern.
‘The roads are not big enough for the amount of traffic it [the development] would create,’ he said. ‘The prohibited roads idea will just shift the problem to other areas. The roads that are around there are not big enough for two-way traffic.’
He said there must be a solution to the traffic problem and noted that St Clair Hill was a main road big enough for two-way traffic, so that might be an option.
While he welcomed the developers trying to get people out of their cars, he said that they should be doing more.
Sue Niles grew up in the area and moved back in recent years. She said that Robergerie was not big enough for two-way traffic.
‘With the idea of prohibited streets, who would manage it?’ she said. ‘It’s not going to work.’
She said she would be objecting to the plans formally.
Douzenier Rob Gill said the unusually busy drop-in showed the strength of feeling among the community. He noted that dozens of new homes had been built, were under construction or were in the planning stages for the north of the island in recent years, which is already struggling under the number of existing homes.
This is due to housing being directed to the main centres, which includes the Bridge main centre. The outer boundary of that area stretches from the north of Braye Road and along Vale Road.
Mr Gill said the States should draw up an infrastructure plan before allowing more big developments to go forward, to ensure there was the infrastructure in place for more homes.
. The consultation for the planning application ends on Friday.
