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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY T.M.PITMAN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 24TH FEBRUARY 2009
Question
Considering the quality of the sea views and the potential of this virgin site, has the land at La Collette, which was zoned for industrial use in July 2000 by Project P96/2000, ever been considered for housing, either within or outside the Island Plan; and has it been valued for housing and if not, why?
Answer
Members should be advised that the 2002 Island Plan formalised the designations made in the 2000 States decision.
The siting of both the major hazard sites, the Jersey Gas liquefied petroleum gas storage site and the fuel storage depot operated by the Fuel Consortium, has resulted in restrictions on the type of development that is considered to be appropriate at La Collette.
Specifically, the Major Hazards Assessment Unit of the UK Health and Safety Executive undertook a quantified risk assessment of the Jersey Gas site in 1993, which was reviewed in 1995 in anticipation of the change to mounded storage of the liquefied petroleum storage vessels and again reassessed in 1999 on the completion of the mounded storage. This 1999 assessment formed the basis for the land use planning zoning around the major hazard sites at La Collette until the explosion and fire at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot, Hemel Hempstead, England which occurred on 11th December 2005.
More recently, following the introduction of a much more widespread safeguarding area around the fuel and gas installations following a post-Buncefield' review of the hazard safeguard regime at La Collette, the potential for housing at La Collette has become extremely limited.
WEB Ltd undertook an evaluation of the existing La Collette sites for housing development some years ago, but following consultation with States Departments (including the Fire and Rescue Service) concluded that, with a single vehicular access to the site and the presence of the fuel farm and gas manufacturing plant (which of necessity would need to be removed), the value of any housing land created was likely to be insufficient to meet the costs of relocating those installations.
The use of this area for housing purposes would, in addition to the fuel farm and gas installations, necessitate the relocation of existing industrial buildings, ash pits, and the compost site to other locations in the Island which are less satisfactory in terms of convenience of location, and which could involve the development of green-field sites.