PLANS for a beach kiosk on the seafront overlooking St Aubin’s Bay have been rejected by the Planning Committee during a meeting described as a “sham” by a supporter of the project.
Members of the committee voted unanimously to support a recommendation by officers to refuse planning permission for the proposed café next to public toilets at La Haule in St Brelade.
Applicant Gordon Troy and several others spoke in a bid to persuade the panel of politicians to approve the application, highlighting what they said was an opportunity to provide access for disabled people to the beach via an adjacent slipway.
Case officer Sam Sellors said the recommendation for refusal stemmed from concerns about transport safety, given the location next to the seafront walking and cycling path, as well as planning policies designed to protect the character of the coastal landscape.
The kiosk would be a new building, making it at odds with a policy stipulation that such development should involve existing buildings or be movable, she added.
Mr Troy made reference to the limited amount of access that disabled people had to the Island’s beaches, saying the site, on land owned by Jersey Property Holdings, was uniquely suited to the project.
The cycle path was not a problem because it passed behind the site, he said, while the slipway was far smoother than the cobbled slips found elsewhere, and the flood risk outlined by officials had been exaggerated.
Committee chairman Constable Philip Le Sueur said he regretted the attempts to turn the matter into a vote for or against supporting the disabled community when he said there were genuine planning reasons why the site was unsuitable, while his colleague Constable Kevin Lewis said that his impression after visiting the site was how the kiosk was being “shoe-horned into such a tight space”.
After several interruptions by supporters of the scheme – including Mr Troy denouncing the meeting as a “sham” – members of the public were asked to leave and the discussion continued in private, with the JEP permitted to remain.
Constable Deidre Mezbourian said it was “disappointing” that the room had been cleared.
“The people who have left have already made their judgment, so they won’t see that the decisions we make are based on planning policies,” she said.
Deputy Tom Coles said that while he was not in favour of the application, he felt that many of the points made about beach access for the disabled were legitimate ones, and that future projects to enhance the Island’s shoreline should include a focus on this matter.
All eight committee members taking part in the discussion voted to back the decision to reject the application.
