Neighbours pleased by plans for Charroterie key worker homes
NEIGHBOURS have welcomed news that work is expected to finally move forward on an empty building site in La Charroterie.
The former CI Tyres site has been cleared since 2018, but construction never got under way. Then this week it was announced that the Guernsey Housing Association has bought the site for £1.7m.
The GHA hope to revise the existing permissions to create 25 units for key workers on the site, with work starting early next year.
Residents Dave Power and Peter Bailey both live in flats next to the site.
They were both relieved to see something was being done with the land.
‘I’ve been here long enough that I have seen lots of uses and plans for the site but nothing that has really come out of it, so it’ll be great to see it used,’ said Mr Bailey, who has lived nearby for 27 years.
‘If it can be used for nursing residence then that is even better,’ said Mr Power, who has lived in a nearby flat for five years.
The pair said that the development would not affect them, but would fit nicely into the overall look of the area.
They added that some work would need to be done to the cliff at the back, such as installing rock catch netting to ensure residents’ safety.
The work is hoped to commence in January, with a target completion date of mid-2024.
St Peter Port constable Zoe Lihou agreed that key worker housing would be an excellent use for the site, particularly in a time of a shortage of homes, especially for key workers.
‘The site was looking run down and so it’s great to see something being done with it,’ she said.
‘We know the parish will swell and get bigger and with the site being on an arterial road into Town means that it shouldn’t have a massive impact on the infrastructure.’
There is planning permission already in place for a three-and-a-half storey building of 17 flats and two ground-floor units on the site.
Mrs Lihou added that the parish would like to see more disused land given a purpose and put to use.
