Seven-storey development ‘would benefit islanders’
DOUBLING the number of houses on the former CI Tyres site would be better value for money and a better use of space, Employment & Social Security president Peter Roffey has said.
But it will need a structure of up to seven storeys to accommodate it.
The site was purchased by the Guernsey Housing Association for £1.7m. last summer, with hopes that work would start early this year and be finished by mid-2024.
But now the GHA is proposing to increase this to 54 one-bed flats.
‘We will be going quite a lot higher, which makes sense with the cliff behind,’ said GHA chief executive Vic Slade.
‘It is the ideal site to go higher.’
But she confirmed it would be lower than nearby Cour du Parc, which has 10 storeys.
‘With the cliff behind, we are looking at a graded design,’ she said.
‘So the front would maybe be four storeys, but as it goes back it will go up to seven storeys. It seems a really sensible way of using the space.’
The road frontage side of the structure would be smaller than the frontage of Charroterie Mills across the road, which has a road frontage of five storeys.
Ms Slade said they would be using GHA standards, so the flats would have reasonable space.
She added they would also be looking at ensuring everyone had access to outdoor space, even if this was only a balcony.
The homes would be used for key workers, and in particular for Health & Social Care staff, due to the site’s proximity to the hospital.
Deputy Roffey said they had consulted with HSC, which had indicated it needed one-bed units.
The costs of the project have not been revealed yet, as the project needs to go out to tender.
But Deputy Roffey confirmed that while the overall cost of the project would go up, the economies of scale meant the price of building each flat would go down.
‘So there is better bang for your buck.’
He added HSC was finding recruitment hard as staff were unable to find places to live, so were not moving to the island. So creating this sort of housing would benefit islanders, even though they would not be living there.
‘Locals need to use the health service, so it’s crucial for the people of Guernsey that we help HSC in this way.’
Ms Slade said they were holding their first meeting with the architects yesterday.
Subject to that going well, she hoped a revised planning application would be submitted within the next few months.
This delay, combined with the larger design, is expected to make the project take 12 months longer to complete.
While the project will be larger than originally planned, Ms Slade said utility work done earlier this year – which saw the road shut for several weeks –should be enough to cope with the expanded scheme.
