‘Fire risk’ buildings cast doubt over Leale’s Yard

The States’ senior committee is working up proposals to invest tens of millions of pounds in 100 or more flats for key workers and infrastructure at the Bridge to get the project off the ground.

P&R hopes to push the proposals to a vote in the States in December. But the committee responsible for social and key worker housing has now raised serious concerns about the safety of the proposed construction method.

Employment & Social Security president Peter Roffey has urged that due diligence on the project should go beyond financial, and should look at issues of using volumetric modular construction.

‘I am aware of concerns being raised in the UK about some inherent fire hazards involved in that. Particularly with multi-storey apartment blocks and about the void spaces that go through these buildings.

‘That doesn’t rule them out, but it means great attention needs to be paid to the fire retardant element of it.

‘I would hate to be in a position where we really wanted to support [P&R’s] proposals but couldn’t because that hadn’t been bottomed out.’

P&R president Peter Ferbrache accepted that Deputy Roffey had made ‘a good point’ and tried to provide reassurance about how his committee was developing its proposals.

‘There’s no point agreeing the finances if the product is not suitable. Those enquiries are being made. If they are not suitable, we won’t support the project,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.

The Co-op, which owns Leale’s Yard, published plans last year for the island’s largest-ever development, which would turn the brown field site into nearly 350 houses, a supermarket and a multi-storey car park.

For nearly 20 years, new social and key worker housing has been provided through the States’ partnership with the Guernsey Housing Association, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee.

But the GHA has so far been notably absent from P&R’s plans for Leale’s Yard.

Deputy Roffey believed that the GHA shared some of his committee’s concerns about the suitability of the proposed construction method.

‘I think the GHA has been spoken to about this development and about what role, if any, they want,’ he said.

‘We are picking up on the grapevine that the board of the GHA have some concerns. But I’m not going to speak on behalf of them. The GHA does not belong to Employment & Social Security.’

Former P&R vice-president Deputy Heidi Soulsby has also questioned the potential use of modular builds and asked for answers about the absence of the GHA from the plans.

The GHA confirmed that it was not leading the project for key worker housing at Leale’s Yard but did not rule out involvement at some stage.

‘It’s a large and complex site, so it’s right that the States is taking the strategic lead on this,’ said GHA chief executive Vic Slade.

‘With any large or complex project, which this is, there will be work to do to get to the policy letter stage and we’ll contribute to that as required.

‘There are always advantages and disadvantages with any construction type and modern methods of construction, referred to in the development framework, are no different.

‘There are different types of modern methods of construction. Volumetric modular, as mentioned today, is just one type. Any construction scheme or build type needs to be assessed on its merits.’

P&R now sees the Leale’s Yard development as the quickest way of providing much-needed accommodation for nurses and other key workers.

‘The intent is that it would be built within the lifetime of this particular Assembly and therefore people would start paying rent at that particular time,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.

‘So we’re talking about the next 18 to 20 months and then it would start to give a return. That’s the aspiration.’