A Development Framework for residential development of the site referred to as the Belgrave Vinery, Vale Road, St Sampson has been approved by the Development & Planning Authority.
The Draft Development Framework was the subject of a public consultation between December 2020 and March 2021. A number of responses to the draft were received from a range of consultees including States Committees, agents and the public.
All of the matters raised were fully considered by the Authority and several amendments were made to the draft in response to the comments received before the final Development Framework was approved. These included:
- Emphasising the need for substantial public open space;
- Removing an access point from Vale Road to address amenity concerns;
- Adding the potential for a link road with Victoria Avenue;
- Requiring a flood risk assessment;
- Placing greater emphasis on encouraging complementary uses within the site;
- Requiring a range of types of Affordable Housing;
- Addressing concerns about on-street parking.
The Development Framework provides planning guidance on how the site might be developed. The purpose of a Development Framework is to provide broad, comprehensive and practical guidance on how policies in the Island Development Plan (2016) will be applied to a site and includes a detailed appraisal of the site and the surrounding area.
This site covers an area of approximately 6.26 hectares (40.58 vergées) and largely comprises the Fontaine Vinery and part of the former Belgrave Vinery, consisting of some temporary industrial uses, a cess pit emptying point for the Island, a former horticultural site with remaining spans of glass and a number of parcels of undeveloped land.
The majority of the site is States owned and therefore offers an opportunity for a mix of uses including a large proportion of Affordable Housing, as such the Policy & Resources Committee and the Committee for Employment & Social Security have partnered with the Guernsey Housing Association to develop options for the site.
In terms of density and housing numbers, the exact number of units achievable will depend on the detailed design response to the site analysis and guidelines contained in the Development Framework, and in particular how this addresses the range of constraints on development. However, in order to ensure land is used efficiently it is anticipated that the site would be able to accommodate a density range of 20-50 dwellings per hectare, which is approximately 125-313 dwellings on this site.
Deputy Victoria Oliver, President of the Development & Planning Authority, said: “We’re really pleased to approve this Development Framework on what is considered to be a largely brownfield site and hope this will go some way into enabling the provision of housing on-island. The site has been earmarked for housing development for several decades, having previously formed part of the larger Belgrave Vinery Housing Target Area and currently being designated as a Housing Allocation site in the Island Development Plan.
“Both the Development & Planning Authority and the Planning Service would like to thank all respondents for their interest and engagement in the preparation of this Development Framework.”
Deputy Peter Roffey, President of the Employment & Social Security Committee, said: “As the president of the Employment & Social Security Committee and chair of the Housing Action Group I know I speak on behalf of both bodies when I say how delighted we are that the DPA has now signed off the Development Framework for Belgrave Vinery.
“The need for social and affordable housing in Guernsey is probably greater than at any time since the 1980s. While the solution will obviously require multiple housing schemes this site certainly has the capacity to make a significant difference. The need now is for the framework to be converted into detailed permissions and actual construction as quickly as possible to provide new social rental, key worker and partial ownership homes.”
Steve Williams, Chief Executive of the Guernsey Housing Association, said: “We are delighted that the Development Framework has now been approved and we are busy working on a detailed planning application to provide much needed housing for rent, partial ownership first time buyers, and key workers. We are aiming to start building the first phase next summer with completed homes from 2023 onwards.”
The Development Framework can be accessed via the States of Guernsey website here.
