Traditional farm or listed buildings

WQ.282/2025

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY I. GARDINER OF ST. HELIER NORTH

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 16th JUNE 2025 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 23rd JUNE 2025

Question

"Further to the response to Written Question 236/2025, which provided the published definition of existing buildings' as "traditional farm or listed buildings; and some employment buildings", will the Minister provide a breakdown of the type of buildings included within these categories?"

Answer

It is important to state at the outset, that the meaning of existing buildings' for the purpose of this answer needs to be considered within the context of bridging Island Plan Policy H9: Housing outside the built-up area.

As previously stated, in the answer to WQ.236/2025, the pre-amble to Policy SP2 – Spatial strategy; and Policy PL5 – Countryside, coast and marine environment, together with Policy H9 – Housing outside the built-up area itself make it clear that in the context of these policies, buildings' refers to existing dwellings; traditional farm or listed buildings; and some employment buildings.

The types of buildings embraced by these terms are described in the island plan itself, as follows:

• Dwelling[1]: a self-contained unit of accommodation where all rooms in a household are behind a door, which the household controls.

Within the context of Policy H9, any proposal to extend or sub-divide a dwelling leading to the creation of separate households would clearly need to be capable of accommodating such having regard to the Minister's minimum space standards.

• Traditional farm buildings[2]: traditional farmsteads comprising farmhouses with multi- functional two-storey working farm buildings or ranges (commonly termed a shed) set out mostly in L-and U-shaped plans. Ancillary detached vernacular farm structures mostly comprise pigsties, cart sheds, ash houses and bakehouses. The term traditional farm buildings applies such structures where they were constructed before 1960.

Within the context of Policy H9, a traditional farm building considered for conversion to residential use would clearly need to be capable of accommodating such a use.

• Listed building[3]: a legal designation of a building that has public importance by reason of its special archaeological, architectural, artistic, cultural or historical interest. Legally defined as a site of special interest (SSI); and referred to as a listed building or place' because it features on a list of SSIs.

Listed buildings can embrace any part of the historic environment that are perceived by many as having a distinct identity, including under the ground or sea, ranging from post boxes to castles[4]. Within the context of Policy H9, a listed building considered for conversion to residential use would clearly need to be capable of accommodating such a use.

• Some employment buildings: the definition of employment buildings is broad (see section 4: defining employment land/uses in the Minister's supplementary planning guidance; Protection of employment land). Within the context of Policy H9, however, the key policy objective is to enable the potential conversion of those redundant employment buildings that might exist outside of the island's built-up areas, such as outworn tourism accommodation, to provide them with a new use or to enable their redevelopment, subject to the tests outlined in the policy, where it is appropriate and acceptable to do so.

Agricultural buildings (post 1960) and glasshouses are excluded from this provision and their conversion to other non-employment uses will not be supported.

1. Bridging Island Plan, Glossary, p.357
2. Bridging Island Plan, pre-amble to Policy ERE3 – Conversion or re-use of traditional farm buildings, p.179, as cited in Historic farmsteads and landscapes in Jersey (2008)
3. Bridging Island Plan, Glossary, p.358
4. Bridging Island Plan, pre-amble to Policy HE1 – Protecting listed buildings and places, and their settings p.129