Former Mirus Battery mess could become eight homes

Permission was granted to convert the historic building in fields near Route des Paysans, St Peter's, into nine self-catering units in 2011.

But that project has since stalled which has led to the latest application, which would instead see the building converted into eight homes.

‘As the previously-approved visitor accommodation scheme has stalled, it is important to find an alternative solution that will enable the building to be restored, put back into productive reuse, and sustained into the future,’ said Collas Crill senior planning consultant Chris Crew about the application.

‘This proposes just such a solution... as the island is currently suffering a crisis of housing availability and affordability, the provision of eight additional dwellings will make a modest but nonetheless positive contribution towards addressing that.’

The proposal would see two four-bed homes, five two-bed homes and a single one-bed house, all created in a terrace.

Conversion work for the self-catering project was already quite advanced, with one unit nearly complete.

But Mr Crew said with work stalled, the owners had sought fresh planning advice ahead of this latest application.

‘Work has progressed slowly since then due to the significant capital outlay required, difficulty obtaining finance, and a steady decline in visitor numbers, something that has shown no sign of changing post-Covid,’ he said.

There are only very limited circumstances where new housing can be created outside the local centre boundaries.

But Mr Crew noted that this was subdivision of a redundant building – one of the policy gateways – and the proposed residential use was equally acceptable as is the current authorised self-catering use.

The mess was constructed in 1943 and forms part of the Mirus Battery – the largest battery built in the Channel Islands, which was used during the war to house naval guns.

There is no similar structure in Guernsey or Jersey and the battery is one of the few remaining coastal batteries in the Atlantic Wall.

However, the mess fell into ruin after the war until the latest applications.

The 2011 plans had included proposals for a visitor interpretation centre.

However, with the site now proposed for housing, with no public access, this has been removed from the design.

Instead, an interpretation board would be commissioned and installed near the site on Rue du Lorier.

Access to the site will be along a track from Rue du Lorier.

• The plans can be viewed at www.gov.gg/liveplanningapplications.