Field cannot be turned into a garden despite owner doing so
A field near the German Underground Hospital cannot be turned into a garden, planners have ruled, although its owner has already carried out work including the installation of a rockery, LED lights inside granite setts, and other landscaping, without permission.
The application was made by the owner of several residential properties in La Vassalerie.
The field, which is 771sq. m, is on the junction with Rue des Hougues and Rue des Naftiaux.
The latest application, on top of the change of use, also applied to demolish and replace an existing wall, to allow the driveway to be widened, as well as to change ground levels, install a retaining wall and landscaping on agricultural land.
‘Following a site visit to the property, it is evident that the works proposed are all retrospective given that a material change of use has occurred from agricultural land, to domestic curtilage,’ the planners said in the rejection.
They said that the field had taken on a ‘domestic character’, and listed work including a change in land levels, the creation of a granite cobbled driveway, which linked the domestic curtilage and agricultural land, the installation of granite boulders and a rockery area with associated, ornamental-style landscaping, all within the proposed extension of curtilage.
The planners also noted that the agricultural track had been resurfaced with loose stone and was now flanked by lavender plants and smooth granite setts, with LED lights incorporated within the stones, and domestic gates.
La Societe Guernesiaise was concerned about the impact on nature, noting that there were now non-native species in the area and the landscaping had become a parkland habitat. It also raised concerns about light pollution, which could affect bats, birds and insects.
The Island Development Plan seeks to protect and enhance the countryside. It dictates that while agricultural land can be lost to development, this is only allowed if it is proved the land is no longer needed for farming.
But that did not happen in this instance. The agent’s justification for the change of use of land advocated that the proposal should be seen as a trade-off, with the extension of the domestic curtilage being limited in its extent, and in return a larger parcel will stay as agricultural land.
The land parcel forms part of a broader area of agricultural land, with good connectivity to agricultural land, and is an Agriculture Priority Area.
‘Moreover, the loss of this parcel of agricultural land would fragment the wider agriculture land parcel between Les Gouies and La Pepiniere, and the larger swathe of agricultural land,’ the planners said.
If approved, the area would be less capable of making a meaningful contribution to the agriculture priority area.
The planners noted that the planting of trees on remaining agricultural land nearby indicated that it was not being used for farming, while the new granite setts and planting make the site inaccessible for machinery.
‘This therefore signifies that the land is not to be used for commercial agriculture and is in essence a further extension of domestic curtilage as a result of domesticating the agricultural land to serve as a formal driveway,’ the planners said.
‘This is also evident as no demarcation has been proposed between the extension of domestic curtilage and the remaining agricultural land, such as a hedgerow or earthbank.’
The planners noted that it had not been shown that the remaining land could be used for commercial agriculture.
‘Consequently, the proposal would represent the unacceptable loss of agricultural land within the Agriculture Priority Area.’
The planners noted that other work that should have required planning permission, including the removal of a bank and hedges, had also been carried out, and that the work done had a ‘detrimental impact’ on the wider rural landscape character of the island.
The latest application followed permission being granted for another field under the same ownership to be used as a garden retrospectively in 2022.
Also in 2022 permission was sought to hard-surface an agricultural track and install a gate between an existing track and a domestic driveway, which was withdrawn over concerns about domesticating the use of an agricultural track.
It is understood that discussions with planners are taking place in the wake of the latest decision.
