Permission was granted in 2018 to erect a double garage for the storage of motor vehicles at the property on Les Varendes, near the former Grammar School. A subsequent application in 2022 to convert it into a house was rejected because the existing building had not been completed.
Most new housing is focused on the main centres of Town and Bridge, along with the local centres, like L’Islet, L’Aumone and St Martin’s. But there is a planning gateway to allow housing to be created in exceptional circumstances by converting existing structures if they they are no longer needed for their current use.
In the latest application the agent advised the planners that the building was now wind and watertight and had been vacant since it was constructed.
‘The agent advises that their client purchased the site to store vehicles associated with kart racing, but they have since received permission to extend the domestic curtilage on their property, which included an outbuilding. As a result this building is redundant and is not needed for the use as originally intended,’ the planning report said.
Looking at the construction of the garage, the planners noted that it was capable of being used for its authorised purpose.
‘Whether the building is no longer required for its current or last known use requires a broader and more objective assessment than simply whether the building is no longer required at a specific point in time due to the particular personal circumstances of the current owners,’ the planners noted.
‘A broader objective assessment is required to test the redundancy of a building in order to limit development outside of the centres.’
No information was provided by the applicant about whether any measures had been undertaken to use or to market the building for its authorised use.
‘In addition, although the building may be wind and watertight, the building has not been completed and it does not appear to have ever been used for its approved purpose,’ the planners said.
It was also noted that that the garage’s doors face a neighbouring property, which might impact their privacy.
The house would have made a one-bedroom home, and the planners noted it would not meet the best practice minimum internal space standards for a one-person dwelling. All these factors saw the application refused.
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