The National Trust of Guernsey was strongly against plans submitted in August of 2009 in respect of the development of the land at Le Coupee Lane, behind the Trust’s 26 Cornet Street Victorian Shop and Parlour.
A letter objecting to the size and appearance of the proposed development, relative to the surrounding buildings and expressing concern over the potential archaeological importance of the site was sent the Environment Department.
The plans were rejected by Environment and in late September the developers approached the Trust and other neighbours to attend a private presentation of revised plans. These revised plans demonstrated that the developers and their architects had considered the concerns of the Trust and those of other objectors, in making the appearance of the development much more in keeping with the surrounding area, moving the development further away from existing buildings and even reducing the size of the development from 12 to 11 apartments to enable these changes.
The Trust is not therefore raising objections to the new plans and has also been assured by the developers and their contractors that when groundworks commence at the site, care will be taken and the opportunity provided for interested parties to examine the area for any interesting archaeological matters.
The Trust is pleased that, on this occasion, its concerns have been recognised by the developers and believes that the latest plans are a great improvement on those for which permission was granted in 2006 and the amended plans submitted in August 2009.
The view of St Peter Port as you approach from the sea is one of Guernsey’s finest and has already been blighted by some recent developments. The Trust needs to remain vigilant in spotting applications for future developments, to enable it to investigate and, if appropriate, object to insensitive or incongruous plans.
Councillor Ian McCathie
FinancialAdvisor@ntguernsey.com