Island Plan 2011: approval (P.48/2011): fifteenth amendment.

STATES OF JERSEY

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ISLAND PLAN 2011: APPROVAL (P.48/2011): FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT

Lodged au Greffe on 21st April 2011

by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture

STATES GREFFE

2011   Price code: A  P.48 Amd.(15)

ISLAND PLAN 2011: APPROVAL (P.48/2011): FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT PAGE 2 –

After the words "the revised draft Island Plan 2011" insert the words "except that in Policy H1: Category A housing sites (on pages 246–247) replace the words –

"To assist with and contribute to the provision of affordable homes, especially over the first five years of the Plan period, the following States-owned sites, and others which may emerge during the Plan period, will also be developed to provide, in part or in whole, at least 150 affordable homes:

• Le Coin, Ann Street;
• former Jersey College for Girls site, Rouge Bouillon;
• South Hill States Offices;
• former D'Hautrée School site, St Saviour's Hill; and
• Ambulance HQ, Rouge Bouillon."

With the following words –

"To assist with and contribute to the provision of affordable homes, especially over the first five years of the Plan period, States-owned sites will also be developed, in whole or in part, to provide, at least, 150 affordable homes. This includes the following sites, which are already identified for disposal:

• Le Coin, Ann Street;
• former Jersey College for Girls site, Rouge Bouillon;
• South Hill States Offices;

But  may  also  involve  others,  should  they  be  deemed  to  be  surplus  to requirements during the Plan period, including:

• former D'Hautrée School site, St. Saviour 's Hill; and
• Ambulance HQ, Rouge Bouillon."."

MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE

REPORT

The d'Hautrée site is adjacent to the Highlands Campus and it currently provides a range  of  facilities  for  Education,  Sport  and  Culture  (ESC)  and  Jersey  Property Holdings (JPH). These include the Highlands College Exam Centre, the Professional Development  Centre,  the  Property  Holdings  Maintenance  Team  offices,  and temporary classroom accommodation (primarily for IT courses) to assist Highlands College in responding to the upturn in the number of students in further education.

States members will recall that the d'Hautrée site was listed in the draft 2009 States Annual Business Plan (P.117/2009) as one of a number of properties being proposed for disposal. At that time I brought an amendment to the States which pointed out that no meaningful discussions had taken place with the ministerial team on the future property requirements of the Education, Sport and Culture Department, nor had an overall plan been prepared on what properties would be required over the next 10 to 15 years. The d'Hautrée site had been identified in the 2002 Island Plan as a site that should  be  safeguarded  for  educational  use,  and  I  therefore  considered  it  to  be premature  to  be asking  the  States  to  agree  the  property  should  be scheduled  for disposal,  and  that  the  Department's  future  property  requirements  should  be  fully considered and agreed by all parties concerned. The amendment to this effect was adopted by the States by a majority of 39 votes to nil.

Following on from this debate, agreement was reached between ESC and JPH on the terms of reference for a review of the properties currently under ESC administration, including the d'Hautrée site. This review is being presently being carried out by JPH and is nearing completion.

The position in relation to the d'Hautrée site remains basically unchanged from 2009. The same facilities are presently being accommodated on the site, and in the longer term, ESC would be interested in retaining the site for educational use. Options being explored  include  facilities  for  further  education  and/or  a  vocational  centre  for 14–16 year olds. A vocational centre would be compatible with the usage of existing buildings on Highlands Campus, and would be able to benefit from other facilities on the campus, e.g. library, canteen, meeting rooms.

The  d'Hautrée  site  is  proposed  in  the  draft  Island  Plan  (Policy  SCO1)  as  being retained for educational use –

To address deficiencies in the provision of education facilities, the following sites  are  safeguarded  for  educational  use,  the  alternative  development  of which will not be permitted unless it can be demonstrated that they are no longer required for educational purposes:

the former D'Hautrée School site (...)'.

This could be interpreted as being inconsistent with Policy H1 in the draft Island Plan, where it is proposed that (my emphasis) –

Page - 3

P.48/2011 Amd.(15)

To assist with and contribute to the provision of affordable homes, especially over the first five years of the Plan period, the following States owned sites, and others which may emerge during the Plan period, will also be developed to provide, in part or in whole, at least 150 homes:

the former d'Hautree School site ()'.

This contrasts with the earlier statement in paragraph 6.60 on housing supply, where it states (my emphasis) –

6.60  Other  suitable  sites  that  may  become  surplus  to  requirement

include

Former d'Hautree School Site ().'

It is for the sake of clarity, therefore, that this amendment is being submitted. The effect of the amendment will be to retain the d'Hautrée site in the list of properties under Policy SCO1 as being designated for educational use.

In bringing this amendment, I would like to emphasize that I remain willing to discuss the future use of the d'Hautrée site, and look forward to reviewing this in the light of the property review currently being undertaken by Property Holdings.

Financial and manpower implications

This amendment does not have any significant financial or manpower implications for the States.