Island Plan (P.69-2002) - fifth amendments

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Lodged au Greffe on 25th June 2002 by the Connétable of St. Brelade

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STATES OF JERSEY STATES GREFFE

150 2002 P.69 Amd.(5)

Price code: B

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After paragraph (c) insert new paragraph (d) -

"(d) Policy BE11 - Shoreline Zone, subject to the following amendment -

a t  th e  e n d   o f  th e   P o licy after the words favourably considered' insert the following paragraph -

Pr oposals for the construction of a land reclamation scheme adjacent to St. Aubin's harbour, including public car parking, to restore St. Aubin's village its unique character, as approved by the States on 23rd July 1996, will be favourably considered' ";

and in sub paragraph (d), after the words the Island Proposals Map, 1/02, add -

"except that there shall be included on the said Map the land reclamation scheme adjacent to St.  Aubin's harbour, including public parking, as agreed by the States on 23rd July 1996."

and re-number as necessary. CONNÉTABLE OF ST BRELADE

Report

Throughout the draft Island Plan 2002 (P.69/2002) the Planning and Environment Committee repeatedly make reference to Conservation Areas in terms of preserving and/or enhancing them. Although St.  Aubin is mentioned there is no reference to the land reclamation scheme agreed by the States on 23rd July 1996. The report of the then Connétable of St. Brelade accompanying that proposition (P.73/96 attached at the Appendix) is even more relevant today due to the continuing increase of residents in the village, an increase in motor traffic, more leisure boats and yachts moored in the harbour and more activities with jet skis and small sailing craft in the west of St. Aubin's Bay.

St.  Aubin's village is in need of revitalising and the land reclamation scheme will enable that to happen. The advantages of this scheme (as mentioned in the Island Plan Conservation Areas) would improve visual impact, i.e. a vehicle management scheme, parked cars out of site, improved areas for pedestrians (both locals and tourists), including improved pedestrians' and cyclists' safety; and from the tourism point of view the opportunity for al-fresco improvements along the Bulwarks.

During the winter months an area within the new reclaimed site, which is not needed for car parking, could be set aside for the storage of boats and small craft: a facility that is lacking within the Island.

There are no immediate financial implications of inserting this scheme in the draft Island Plan. When proposals for a detailed scheme  are  brought  forward  they  will  need  to  be  costed  and  prioritised  in  the  usual  way.  There  are  no  manpower implications.

APPENDIX

ST. AUBIN: LAND RECLAMATION (P.73/96)

Lodged au Greffe on 30th April 1996 by the Connétable of St. Brelade ____________

Report

"St. Aubin is choking itself with its own beauty. There is underlying frustration and resentment in the hearts of its fortunate residents and, increasingly, for its visitors. It is not a museum, neither is it just a pleasant place to live in. It is part of the soul, the identity of Jersey; a living manifestation of the past and present, the Heritage Town (or is it a village) of Jersey."

These are the words of Philip Geoghegan, as Urban/Architect Designer for the Island Development Committee in 1992, when he, with the help of officers of the Department, prepared a report on St.  Aubin entitledA Future with the Past in St.  Aubin'. It is indeed to preserve the heritage of this unique part of Jersey that I present this proposition to the House.

St. Aubin is an outstanding historic village. Its architecture, narrow streets and busy harbour provide a fascinating insight into life through the centuries in Jersey. It has a thriving community and is an essential stopping-point for every tourist who visits Jersey.

The centre of St. Aubin has been designated as a conservation area, where all buildings will be protected against insensitive change. But the car has overwhelmed the village as car parking has overtaken the use of all the public spaces, establishing a priority use in areas where it ruins the environment. The Bulwarks suffers from too much traffic and parking to the detriment of pedestrians, and the approach road from St. Helier does not achieve a good entrance to the village as cars are parked along most of its length.

A variety of schemes have been considered in the past, but these were all of a minor nature because of the very reason for the existence of traffic problems - lack of space. Proposals for land reclamation to the east of the Parish Hall have been made in the past and one such scheme was considered at a Parish Assembly on 21st May 1980, when a majority of parishioners voted in favour of a proposal to carry out some form of land reclamation at St. Aubin, with a view to the alleviation of the village traffic problems. At that Assembly, Senator John Averty, President of the then Public Works Committee, said that cars were ruining St. Aubin and he saw a land reclamation scheme as an investment for the future'. He was eager that the plan should be progressed as soon as possible and promised that the site would be very carefully landscaped. However, the proposal seems to have been left in abeyance, although it was discussed again by the Public Works Committee in 1984. Informal discussions were held then with the Island Plan team which indicated that there would be a favourable reaction to a proposal to reclaim land to the north of the harbour breakwater and various options were put forward.

These outlined proposals for the enhancement of the village and considered three options for land reclamation. The second option which was favoured is the one which I believe presents the most attractive proposal for St. Aubin. The line of this scheme runs along the existing sea wall and Includes the area of beach where the sand starts to deteriorate. It is hoped that all the existing granite sea wall enclosed within the scheme can be utilised to protect the outer face of the new sea wall.

The Planning Officers of the day and their consultants were in favour of land reclamation, based on the smaller of the two draft proposals and stated -

" We   b e lieve that such a scheme would provide an opportunity to significantly improve the environment of St.

Aubin by providing car parking and winter boat storage space."

In 1987, the St. Aubin Land Reclamation Scheme was included in the Island Plan. In 1989, I wrote on the matter to the then President of the Island Development Committee, Connétable John Le Sueur , but it was not until 1992 that a report prepared by Philip Geoghegan was presented to parishioners and created considerable interest. It set out various schemes to improve the quality of life in St. Aubin for residents and tourists and included land reclamation schemes.

Since that time, schemes have been put forward that would produce ten or fifteen places for parking, but these are not sufficient to help the many people who come into the village during the day and especially in the evenings to visit, to shop, or to eat at one of our many good restaurants and are forced to drive away because they cannot park. Importantly too, many houses give directly onto our narrow streets and do not have garages or facilities for parking and residents find it very difficult to find places to park their cars in the area.

The latest proposal by Deputy Alastair Layzell and the St.  Aubin Environment Group sought to improve the environment of the centre of St.  Aubin and was favourably received. However, at a packed Parish Hall meeting, it was felt that this attractive scheme could only be achieved by the provision of more parking in the village and the proposition that land reclamation be re-investigated as an urgent option was overwhelmingly agreed by the meeting.

St.  Aubin's village is bordered by the sea on one side and hills on the other and there is just no available place for any reasonable amount of parking to be provided. Residents, hoteliers and traders are now desperate for something to be done.

Most of the coastal area of the village, including the Parish Hall itself, is built on reclaimed land, so we can be very grateful to those who came before us and who had the vision to provide land from the sea so that those who followed them could build homes, churches, shops, businesses and green areas for us and our tourists to enjoy. I hope that we in our generation will have their vision and sensitivity to provide not only for the needs of the future, but for those who live, work or visit this unique and historic village of St. Aubin.

A car park built on reclaimed land below the existing sea wall would avoid the necessity for parking on the roads in the village and would need to be carefully landscaped. It would be an extension of the present car parks and landscaped areas behind the Parish Hall .

It would enable all the plans for the enhancement and conservation of St.  Aubin to be put into place and would provide the opportunity for our heritage of fine town houses, attractive harbour and quaint narrow streets to be seen to their best advantage and to be enjoyed more fully by residents and by the thousands of tourists who visit this ancient part of Jersey each year.