The plans seek to reassure islanders that it will not dominate the area, being shorter than the nearby power station chimney.
The outline planning application proposes demolishing an existing industrial/office building, which stands on Bridge Avenue – a lane that heads inland off the middle part of the Bridge.
In its place would be a block containing 12 flats.
The application comes from a company called Island Land, with the application signed by Oliver Brock, an architect who has become known for his ambitious designs, which provoke discussion about the housing crisis.
The fee for this planning application was £1,120 and Mr Brock confirmed this was a serious proposal.
In the design statement from the applicant, it states the proposals aimed to ‘maximise efficient use of brownfield land to deliver much-needed housing at a time of acute housing pressure’.
The site is 40 metres inland from the Bridge seafront, where buildings are mostly two or three storeys high.
A drawing in the plans shows the proposed building rooftop high above the existing shops, when viewed from the Weighbridge.
But the design statement notes that the area has a ‘rich mix of taller structures that speak to its industrial and maritime heritage’. It goes on to list the power station chimneys, church spires and water towers as examples.
‘Our proposed building is not a tower,’ the applicant states.
‘At approximately 33 metres, it is notably shorter than the power station chimney (57m), the Vale Castle ridge (36m) and Mont Crevelt hougue and tower (34m) and the harbour cranes and fuel tanks (up to 37m).
‘Rather than dominating, it steps confidently into a skyline already populated with tall, purposeful forms. It is not symbolic height for its own sake, but a natural expression of increased housing need, good design, and historical continuity, a landmark at the seam.’
The application notes that outline planning approval has been granted for more than 100 homes on the neighbouring Leale’s Yard, with blocks up to six storeys high, which would also include a multi-storey car park.
‘As such, the proposed development forms a natural transition between the denser emerging character of Leale’s Yard, the large scale industrial character of North Side and the finer urban grain to the southwest and south of the Bridge itself,’ the designer said in the design statement.
‘At a time when Guernsey faces a well-documented housing crisis, this application presents an opportunity to deliver a modest but meaningful increase in housing stock within a compact footprint and without displacing existing residential use.’
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