GP11’s suspension ‘not the cure-all for housing problem’

At yesterday’s States meeting, politicians agreed to direct the Development & Planning Authority to suspend GP11 for five years, but develoers said there was more to consider in regards to affordable housing.

‘While I applaud the aspiration behind GP11, in practice it has not been able to deliver affordable homes as intended,' said Lovell Ozanne director Annalisa Spencer.

‘We support the States in recognising that a new approach is now needed.

'This isn’t a comprehensive “fix-all” solution to developing affordable housing but we look forward to seeing how this measure, along with the continued efforts of the GHA, will help to create more homes for islanders.’

Experienced developer Paul Nobes, joint managing director of Infinity Group, said that the suspension of GP11 was a positive step forward, but just one of many things that needs to change.

‘I personally think that GP11 needs to be scrapped completely and I think there should be some monetary contribution towards what we’re doing, which we’ve already suggested,’ he said.

‘I think we will have permissions coming through and they’ll be much quicker, but GP11 has to be part of a wider thinking.

‘In the UK they do government guarantee schemes and government lending, so it needs to be part of a bigger picture, although it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

‘We realised over the last couple of years that the more consultation and more discussions the better the situations will be, and it will save this happening again in the future.’

Rihoy & Son director Jeremy Rihoy wrote to deputies stating that scrapping the GP11 policy would be the best action to kick-start new housing developments.

Following the suspension of GP11, he said that it was a step in the right direction but had only removed an obstacle.

‘It’s a good move, but it’s not going to cure Guernsey’s housing shortage overnight,’ he said.

‘The bigger question is will there be a GP11 version two brought and what would that look like?’

‘Whoever brings it in, presumably the DPA, will they consult properly with the various interest groups, particularly the developers?

‘They didn’t do that last time, they simply told us what they were doing, we said we didn’t think it would work but they went ahead and did it anyway.’