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WQ.94/2025
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY I. GARDINER OF ST. HELIER NORTH
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 3rd MARCH 2025 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 10thMARCH 2025
Question
"Further to the adoption of the Third Amendment to the Common Strategic Policy (P.21/2024), in which it was stated that "we will enable the design of homes for our ageing population to allow them to remain living independently", will the Minister advise what specific actions, if any, were undertaken to meet this commitment in 2024 and what plans, if any, exist for 2025?"
Answer
It has been recognised, for some time now, that the ageing demographic of Jersey will generate an increased need for accommodation to meet the housing needs of older people in particular.
The need for homes that better meet the needs of older people can be met, in part, by the provision of smaller units of accommodation as part of the overall supply of homes. The current island plan has specific policy provision that requires residential developments of five or more dwellings to include a proportion of smaller homes to encourage and enable right-sizing, where appropriate. This has served to ensure that larger developments, even where they are predominantly providing family accommodation, include a proportion of smaller homes, as evidenced by recent planning permission awarded in 2024 for the development of sites rezoned for the provision of affordable homes . This policy will remain to be applied in 2025 and beyond.
In anticipation of this challenge, changes to the island's building byelaws were also made in 2008 to ensure that dwellings were adaptable to the long-term needs of occupiers, and to incorporate features that will enable occupants to cope better with reducing mobility and to stay put' longer in their own homes. All homes built since that time will have had to meet these standards and are still required to do so. Building byelaws are currently being reviewed which presents the opportunity to ensure that these standards remain appropriate in this respect.