Unoccupied States properties known as Amy’s House and L’Hôpital in St Martin and what steps have been taken to sell them

1240/5(1872)

QUESTION TO BE ASKED OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSING COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY, 20th MAY 2003, BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARTIN

Question

1. The properties known as Amy's House and l'Hôpital in St. Martin have been unoccupied for some considerable time.At the States meeting of 8th October2002, in answer to a question querying why the properties remained unoccupied,the President stated that the Committeewasgoing to sell the properties by way of open tender. Will thePresident inform memberswhythe properties still remain unoccupiedand outline whatstepshavebeentaken to selltheproperties?
2. There are a numberofother properties owned by the Housing Committee whichremainunoccupied and unsold suchasthoseon the Waterfront site. Will the President inform the Statesofthenumberandlocation of all properties in Housing's portfolio that are unoccupied and for sale?
3. In respect to the properties referred to in (b) above will thePresident state how long those properties have been on the marketand give an explanation as to why they remain unsold?

Answer

1. The Committee offered Amy'sHouseforsalebywayofopen tender inNovember2002,and 8 tenders were received. Regrettably, the twohighest tenders were subsequentlywithdrawn and it was therefore decided to sell the housein the traditional manner,on the open market, with anasking price of £285,000.

T h e Committee has now, subject to States approval, agreed to sell Amy's House for £275,000. This offer is

not subject to survey. A report and proposition has now been lodged au Greffe', with comments to follow from the Finance and Economics Committee. If the States agree to sell Amy's House, this long running saga will shortly be brought to a conclusion.

W ith regard to l'Hôpital, the Housing Committee, following advice from the Law Officers' Department, has

agreed to carry out significant works to the bank surrounding the property prior to sale. In view of the unique location of this property, the design of the works has needed to be particularly sensitive to the shoreline. In this regard, discussions with Planning Officers are on-going. It is hoped that permission to commence work will soon be forthcoming and that a start date can be programmed for July. When the work is complete the sale will be pursued by means of an open invitation to tender.

2. With the exceptionof the Waterfront, the Committee currently hasnoother properties which are unoccupied and are being offered for sale. However, the Committeedoes have several sites wheredevelopmentplans are being pursuedand it is intended that sales agreements with HousingTrusts will follow.
3. The Waterfront, Albert Pier housing developmentwascompletedand available for occupation on 28th March 2003. Sales agreements have been reached with the Jersey Homes Trust for the northern part of the developmentand with individual first time buyers for 29outof the 70 flats in the southern part of the development. Due to various legal queries,whichhave arisen, no contracts have yet been passed before the Royal Courtbut the Committeeishopeful that these will be resolvedin the near future.