‘Invisible’ house plan is latest for Idlerocks site

The St Martin’s cliff-top site has stood derelict for nearly 20 years, after the popular hotel was gutted by a fire.

The latest application from Ramle Rocks Ltd is for a three-bedroom home, with housekeeping accommodation. It is the latest in a string of approved applications, which have not been activated.

Lovell Ozanne has designed all the schemes and project architect David Sherwill-Zopf has spent two years on the latest one.

‘We set out to design a truly unique dwelling for a high net-worth individual, which takes advantage of the view of the three islands and creates something spectacular,’ he said.

However if it does get built, the public will struggle to see it.

While the approved hotel plans were for a three-floor hotel on top of a house, which would have jutted out from the landscape, this scheme is for a two-storey build, which would be recessed into the steeply-sloped site.

Mr Sherwill-Zopf said the property should not be visible from the road or the coastal cliff path due to the topography and planting.

‘It’s meant to be invisible,’ he said.

As it is recessed into the landscape, the architects have designed glass-roofed corridors to bring light into the building.

On top of the top floor of rooms would be a green roof. But unlike usual green roofs, which are quite shallow with small plants, the aim is to have soil a metre deep, which would allow large shrubs and small trees to flourish.

Concrete piling would be installed to cope with the weight.

It is hoped that granite reclaimed from the site would be used in the build, while copper cladding would go on the outside and gather a patina over time.

Lovell Ozanne director Andrew Merrett said the site had been designed to have a biodiversity net gain.

Mr Merrett said that there was no chance that a new hotel would be built on the site, and the current state of dereliction was an eyesore.

The application comes after the States backed new planning exemptions last year, which will allow certain former hotels, including Idlerocks, to be exempt from change of use applications to become housing.

The Idlerocks site is about 6,000sq m, but as it is outside the local centres, and is not a housing allocation area, it is not possible to build more homes there.

The only reason one house is allowed is that the site used to have a hotel manager’s house.

It is likely the project will take some time to get approval. But Mr Merrett is optimistic.

‘We have been in discussions with the planners and we are hopeful,’ he said.

If planning permission is granted, it is estimated that the project would take about two-and-a-half years to build.

Mr Merrett would not estimate how much it could cost to bring the plans to life.

n To view the plans visit https://www.gov.gg/liveplanningapplications .