Proposed Ville au Roi development has none of the charm of the area

The Ville au Roi avenues are a little piece of suburbia on the outskirts of St Peter Port, built in the 1930s. There is a real sense of community, children ride their bikes making new friends, whilst the older residents enjoy a stroll around the avenue stopping to say ‘Hi’ to everyone on their way. The avenues are a mix of art deco houses built with charm, and recent developments and upgrades to houses are in keeping with the area and character.

This new proposed development has none of the charm and character of the area. The current building is already the tallest on the road and the application notes raising the height of the roof to allow for another floor. Another floor is to include Juliet balconies and large picture windows which would invade the privacy of those housed nearest.

The current desire by Planning is to focus on densely populating central areas to deal with the overpopulation and ageing community, coming up with policies with a one-size-fits-all approach rather than looking at each development on their own merits. The owners of these houses don’t live on the avenues, they don’t know the real impact of the development other than lining their pockets.

The plans are for eight flats (four one-bedroom and four two-bedrooms) with five parking spaces and a separate four-bedroom house with a drive and two parking spaces. The proposal also includes bicycle storage to encourage active travel. The new in-and-out driveway proposed for the flats would remove on-street parking on either side of Avenue Vivier and Avenue Beauvais, as well as the new drive for the separate dwelling.

Now if each flat had only one car that would mean an additional three cars, but realistically we all know that most people have their own car and with the new development allowing up to a potential 29 residents that is a further 18-plus cars requiring on-street parking. Not only do residents of the avenues park on the roads, but nearby residents and workers from Elizabeth House, MSG and the hospital use the area due to the 23-hour parking. There are also others who abuse this due to the lack of enforcement of the parking restrictions despite numerous complaints. Where are these additional 18-plus cars going to fit?

Emergency and large vehicles are unable to get past the cars due to the amount of cars parked on the road currently. This occurs on a daily basis and can only be described as a slalom which could rival those of most popular ski resorts.

The encouragement of active travel is something island-wide we are all looking to do to reduce our carbon footprint, and we can see why the central location of the plot does welcome this. However, of the three entrances to the avenues, two are on dangerous blind corners making crossing the road difficult, with the exit onto Ruette Braye being the worst (the one opposite the proposed site and with the quickest direct access to Town). There are no active pedestrian crossings or road signs noting ‘concealed exits’.

Other areas of concern include:

l Over-development of the site due to scale of the proposed build.

l Not in keeping with existing character of the area due to the design.

l No affordable housing.

l Privacy of nearby properties and increase in ‘natural surveillance’.

l No consideration for increased traffic (the architect has not requested a traffic assessment).

Now we aren’t saying that nothing can be built on the plot, but real consideration needs to be taken by Planning on the real impact that this would have on the area. This letter only briefly covers our concerns and we have taken it upon ourselves to write individually to Planning in more detail.

Whilst we can, we need to retain the charm of Guernsey rather than turning it into the concrete soulless jungle of its sister island.

The residents of Avenue Vivier, Avenue Germain, Avenue Beauvais and Avenue du Manoir