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8th February 2021
Deputy David Johnson
Chair
Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel By email
Dear Deputy Johnson Skatepark queries
Thank you for your letter of 5th February. Plese see below for the answers to the questions you raised.
- Breakdown of Costs Question
Please could you provide a breakdown of the costs identified for the Les Quennevais site and the South Hill site? The breakdown should include costs for the primary skate park facility, the satellite facilities, professional fees and project management.
Please could the information also provide any matters which have not been factored into the costings such as public facilities (toilets), parking/drop off zones, planning costs and safety mitigations.
Answer
The following table summarises the estimated costs for both the South Hill Gardens and Les Quennevais Sports Centre options:
South Hill Gardens | Les Quennevais Sports Centre | |||
Project Management | £40,000 | £40,000 | ||
Other Professional Fees | £60,000 | £27,500 | ||
Site Surveys & Investigations | £10,000 | £2,500 | ||
Planning Application Fee | £5,000 | £5,000 | ||
Main Skatepark – Construction | £975,000 | £900,000 | ||
Satellite Facilities – Construction | £95,000 | £210,000 | ||
TOTAL = | £1,185,000 | £1,185,000 | ||
Neither option includes estimated costs for construction of a public toilet. Additional costs have been included in the South Hill Gardens estimate for fencing, barriers, walkways and a road crossing. The Les Quennevais Sports Centre estimate includes costs for walking routes across the playing fields but no allowance has been made for a high fence that may be required to prevent balls entering the facility from the adjacent sports pitch to the east.
- Planning and heritage matters Question
Please could you confirm whether you have received any preliminary concerns regarding planning or heritage matters in relation to the South Hill site?
During the briefing we asked some questions about the La Collette safety zone and were advised that the Department received some independent advice on this matter. We believe that it would be helpful if this advice was published.
Answer
We took planning application pre-application advice. The advice received helped form the scope of the South Hill Gardens feasibility study. We have addressed the items raised, as well as others, as follows:
Designation | Raised by Planning | Comments |
La Collette Outer Hazard Zone | Yes | • Land Use Planning Assessment completed by an independent specialist (Atkins International Ltd) • The suitability of a skatepark development to the Outer Hazard Zone has been assessed using the UK Health & Safety Executive's Land Use Planning Methodology (https://www.hse.gov.uk/landuseplanning/methodology.pdf) • The skatepark development has been conservatively assumed as Sensitivity Level 3' – this compares to a moderately sized school or small hospital or nursing home (less than 0.25 hectares) • It has been concluded that there should be no reason on major hazard grounds that planning permission should be refused' |
Protected Open Space | Yes | The skatepark development would be consistent with this designation |
Area of Archaeological Potential (AAP) | No | • The site is within AAP HE1858 St Helier Historic Town and Harbour • Previous Archaeological Assessments on the site have been reviewed • The main source of archaeological potential is the possible remains of a temporary building for a WWII prisoner of war camp in an isolated area of the skatepark development • A local qualified archaeologist would be appointed to help minimise any impact on this possible resource • The skatepark would be designed to minimise excavation in camp building area • A local archaeologist would be appointed to undertake a watching brief' for ground breaking works |
Listed Place Grade 2 | Yes | • The site is within the Listed Place Grade 2 HE1898 South Hill Park • There are other listed places and buildings around the site • Heritage advice to be sought to help minimise impact on the listed place and setting • The skatepark development primarily lies within the historic quarry and refuse tip, not the landscaped gardens |
Geological SSI (GSSI) | No | • The site is adjacent to but outside GSSI0004 – South Hill • There should be no direct impact to the GSSI • Geoarchaeological advice to be sought to minimise any impact on the setting of the GSSI • There are other geological features outside of the GSSI that are not afforded the same protection under planning policy |
Ecological SSI (ESSI) | No | • The site is adjacent to but outside ESSI0004 – South Hill • There should be no direct impact to the ESSI • Ecological advice to be sought to minimise any impact on local ecology |
Ecology (General) | No | • Locally rare species of plant pale flax' is present in an area of the site • Other protected species are present in low numbers • Ecological advice has been sought and a compensation and enhancement plan is to be implemented |
It should be noted that Les Quennevais Sports Centre site is within designated Protected Open Space and immediately adjacent to the Coastal National Park, the Listed Place Grade 1 – BR0228 Les Blanches Banques and the Ecological SSI – ESSI0001 Les Blanches Banques. It is also known that various protected species of bat use the adjacent trees for roosting and foraging. This will need to be managed through a Species Protection Plan and sensitive floodlighting design.
The Land Use Planning Assessment relating to the La Collette Outer Hazard Zone contains some now superseded information about the layout of the skatepark that may cause confusion. It also includes a statement that the facility will have two accessible toilets. The reason the author of the assessment was told this was to ensure that those with impaired mobility and therefore greater sensitivity were considered in the assessment. The conclusion of the assessment is quoted below:
"The approach that has been adopted for assessing the risks associated with a proposed development close to major accident hazards is based on the well-established approach developed by the UK HSE, which considers both the Sensitivity Level' of the development and its Location' within defined zones. The GoJ has been adopting this general approach for many years as it is considered to represent best practice.
Whilst a skatepark development would normally be considered a Sensitivity Level 2 development, the fact that it may very occasionally attract more than 100 people means that for the purposes of this study it is conservatively considered to be a Sensitivity Level 3 development. The skatepark development is located such that it lies entirely within the Outer Zone, as defined in the Island Plan and Supplementary Planning Guidance. Hence, based on the standard HSE land use planning approach, as adopted by GoJ, there is no reason on major hazard safety grounds for planning permission to be refused, and it is anticipated that the Jersey Health and Safety Inspectorate would advise similarly."
If the South Hill Gardens skatepark option is chosen, we will have the assessment updated to reflect current information and make this publicly available as soon as possible. Please note this will not alter the conclusion of the assessment as the development will still lie entirely within the Outer Hazard Zone.
- Consultation exercise Question
During the briefing we asked about the consultation exercise undertaken and noted that the most recent survey ran from 15th to 26th January and received over 2,500 responses. Please could you provide a further breakdown of how many of the "Les Quennevais neighbours" respondents were concerned about the site being located at Les Quennevais and how many of the "South Hill neighbours" were concerned about the site being located at South Hill.
Answer
The consultation received 338 responses from respondents that told us they are a neighbour of the proposed Les Quennevais Sports Centre site'. They answered as follows:
• 67.46% (228) would prefer the skatepark at Les Quennevais Sports Centre
• 32.54% (110) would prefer the skatepark at South Hill Gardens
The consultation received 140 responses from respondents that told us they are a neighbour of the proposed South Hill Gardens site'. They answered as follows:
• 15.00% (21) would prefer the skatepark at Les Quennevais Sports Centre
• 85.00% (119) would prefer the skatepark at South Hill Gardens
I hope this provides the information you were seeking. If not, please do not hestate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Senator Lyndon Farnham
Deputy Chief Minister | Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture +44 (0)1534 440628 l.farnham@gov.je