These are sites for sore eyes
THE social media response to headlines about the prospect of building houses on the car park at Beau Sejour might make those, who thought it would be a good idea to explore what housing potential States-owned sites might hold, think again.
States members voted last summer to explore the development of a ‘Housing Action Plan’ which was to ‘inject hope and demonstrate action for islanders’, according to its proposers, Deputies Inder and Ferbrache, by publishing an overview of all States land suitable for housing.
It should have also taken into account timelines and capacity in the local building industry to turn those permissions into homes – though it doesn’t appear to.
The report instead lists 25 sites which, more than giving ‘hope to islanders’ might lead more to despair, that time has been apparently ‘wasted’ in counting how many homes one might squeeze on to the tarmac at Beau Sejour. (The answer, by the way, is between 163 and 295, depending on how tightly you pack them in.)
Take Beau Sejour out and the list has a little more credibility, but actually demonstrates that even if the States wanted to action housing on almost every site it owns, and some of them do look quite realistic, it wouldn’t actually make that much difference. The remaining 24 sites could realise between 320 and 500 homes – less than two years-worth of the current construction target.
The list does make clear that no sites have any funding allocated, and there are no proposals in mind, but it hasn’t stopped people reacting.
Unless the politicians can provide clarity or action out of this report, it looks like a lot of running around for little practical purpose.