Beach House, Green Island, St. Clement: grant of a right to access through the sea wall.

STATES OF JERSEY

BEACH HOUSE, GREEN ISLAND, ST. CLEMENT: GRANT OF A RIGHT TO ACCESS THROUGH THE SEA WALL

Lodged au Greffe on 6th February 2013 by the Minister for Treasury and Resources

STATES GREFFE

2013   Price code: D  P.16

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

1. to agree that the Public should grant a right of access through the sea wall as shown on Drawing No. 1 to the owners of The Beach House from Green Island slip;
2. to authorise the Attorney General and the Greffier of the States to pass any contracts that might be necessary.

MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES

Note:  The proposal is that the right of access should be granted by the Public for a

consideration of £70,000 plus costs.

REPORT

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to set out the facts and supporting documents relating to the proposed grant of an access right through the sea wall at Green Island slip to a property known as The Beach House.

Background

States of Jersey Standing Order 168 provides for land and property matters to be dealt with  by  the Minister  for Treasury  and  Resources  under  delegated  authority,  thus removing from the Order Paper a large number of decisions that would otherwise need to be considered by the Assembly.

The Standing Order does, however, include provisions for States members to raise queries or concerns regarding the proposed transaction. This is embodied in a two- stage Ministerial Decision process, whereby an in principle' decision is followed, no sooner than 15 working days later, by a substantive decision. During this period, the Minister for Treasury and Resources will respond to any queries raised and consider any representations.

Notwithstanding the experience that the vast majority of property transactions are dealt with under this process without queries being raised, the current arrangement is important in providing members with an opportunity to raise concerns and receive full and considered responses.

Members will see from the attached chronology that the background surrounding this particular case is long and complex. Positions have become quite entrenched and, despite the best efforts of the Assistant Minister and officers, it has not been possible to reach a solution that is acceptable to all parties.

Executive summary

The issue for States Members to consider is whether a right of access is to be granted to the owners of The Beach House for vehicles to exit and enter the property via the Green Island slip.

The Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources gave notice of his intention to grant such access following agreement of terms and subject to certain conditions under delegated  authority  in  accordance  with  States  Standing  Order  168  by  way  of Ministerial Decision MD-PH-2012-0077.

The Connétable of St. Clement has raised certain objections as to the grant of the right and the creation of an access through the sea wall, and these have not been able to be allayed. These objections are set out at Appendix 1.

This matter has been ongoing in a variety of forms since 1998 and needs to be resolved. A chronology of events is attached as Appendix 2.

The issue

The Beach House does not benefit from vehicular access, only pedestrian access. A site plan and image are attached at Appendix 3.

The owners of the property are seeking to obtain the right of access, on commercial terms, from the Public and undertake the works to create the access at their expense.

In order to create access, an opening needs to be created in the sea wall with the access taken from the slip, which is currently used for public parking and the location of a concession.

In considering whether a right of access may be granted, Jersey Property Holdings (JPH) on behalf of the Public has considered a number of issues, as follows:

Crown consent

The foreshore is owned by the Crown and held by the Public by way of a long lease. The consent of the Crown is required for any grant of access.

H.M. Receiver-General is willing to grant consent, subject to the Public agreeing and confirming all statutory consents are in place.

Public consent

JPH  has  agreed  commercial  terms  for  the  access  of  £70,000  subject  to  certain conditions, and have recommended that the transaction proceed once these conditions are met.

These are –

• The owners accept that access is at their own risk and will not be policed by any Public, statutory or other body and cannot be guaranteed
• All costs in creating the access will be met by the owners of The Beach House
• Final approval of drawings and specification of the access works is required from  the  Transport  and  Technical  Services  Department  prior  to commencement
• No liability falls to the Public, statutory or other such body for loss to access from  the  slip  due  to  repair,  maintenance,  rebuilding  or  other  loss  of  the slipway
• A restrictive covenant is to be included in the contract preventing the existing built area of The Beach House being extended, converted or significantly altered without consent at an additional premium.

Appendix 4 sets out the Ministerial Decision.

It should be noted that The Crown will receive 10% of the premium achieved.

Planning

There is a valid planning permission for the creation of the access. This is by way of the original consent for the building of The Beach House dated 22nd October 2002. Details of the consent are set out in Appendix 5.

The Planning Department has sought confirmation from the Solicitor General, who is of the opinion that the permission is valid.

Concession on the slip

The concessionaire who operates the deckchair licence currently parks the trailer in the vicinity of the proposed opening. They have confirmed that they are willing to relocate elsewhere on the slip, and that they have no difficulty with the access being granted.

Policing of access

The Parish has concerns that the Honorary Police will be under undue pressure to police the slip if a member of the public blocks the access. It has been agreed with the owners of The Beach House that the risk lies with them, and this would form part of the conditions of the contract. For the avoidance of doubt, the Parish would not be required to police the access.

Creation of access

One of the conditions of the grant is that the works are undertaken to the satisfaction of  the  Transport  and  Technical  Services  Department  (TTS).  Prior  to  the commencement of any works, the specification and drawings must be approved.

TTS are satisfied that the proposed access is feasible and does not pose a significant risk of flooding.

Additionally, expert engineering advice has been submitted by the owners to support this application (see Appendix 6).

Health and safety

An expert report has been commissioned by the owners of The Beach House, which states that the creation of the access poses no greater threat for users of the slip than the current ability of cars to use the access slip (see Appendix 7).

Historic plaques

A condition of the grant of access is that the Historic plaques will be relocated at the expense of the owners of The Beach House to another location on the slip wall.

Summary

It is believed that all the necessary statutory consents are in place, and that the works to be carried out will not detrimentally affect the retained Public land interest, subject to confirmation by TTS to the engineering treatment.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the approval be granted to the owners of The Beach House to create a vehicle right of access, on the basis of the premium agreed and subject to the conditions identified.

Financial and manpower implications

The Public would benefit from a receipt of £70,000, less 10% to the Crown, should the access be granted. There are no manpower implications for the States arising from this proposition.

OBJECTIONS OF THE CONNÉTABLE OF ST. CLEMENT

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

SITE PLAN AND IMAGES

JERSEY PROPERTY HOLDINGS TRANSACTION RECOMMENDATION

(MD-PH-2012-0077)

PLANNING CONSENT 22ND OCTOBER 2002

DESIGN REPORT FOR CREATION OF ENTRANCE

APPENDIX 7 HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT FOR CREATION OF ENTRANCE