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CURRENT planning rules are “not fit for purpose” and costing the Island millions in business innovation, the head of the Chamber of Commerce has said after a major hotel application was rejected by a panel of politicians yesterday. Lee Madden said Jersey is “tied down in the past” as he called for a meeting with Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham and Environment Minister Steve Luce. And he said the Chamber of Commerce would throw its full weight behind an appeal against the decision to reject the outline planning application for the Strive complex in St Peter. Strive managing director Ben Harvey had laid out plans to build a 179-room hotel with conference centre, spa and swimming pool on land between the existing health club and the next-door rugby club. Supporters said the complex would be a much-needed boost to the Island’s struggling hospitality sector. However, the application was recommended for refusal by the Planning Department as it was deemed to have a “harmful impact on the character of the countryside”. And, yesterday, the Planning Committee narrowly rejected the application by four votes to three, with those voting against the scheme deeming the size and scale of the proposed six-storey building too large for the green-zone site and against the aims of the Bridging Island Plan. Speaking after the decision, Mr Madden hit out at the Bridging Island policy, saying it “is not fit for purpose” and needed to “be reviewed immediately and changed”. He added that he felt is was “absolutely ridiculous” that the decision was made based on a policy that is not set to be updated for another couple of years and said the decision was “to the detriment of the Island, its economy and its future”. He said: “Jersey is tied down in the past and we’re not going to move forward unless we support people to push boundaries because that’s what we need. “We need people who are willing to go out and do some good and take a calculated business risk”. Committing the Chamber’s “full support” to a potential appeal, Mr Madden said that hw as keen to meet Deputies Farnham and Luce to lobby for the decision to be reversed. Co-chief executive of the Jersey Hospitality Association, Marcus Calvani attended the meeting and echoed Mr Madden’s sentiments about the BIP, saying: “It’s in desperate need of renewal”. “We desperately need this hotel, for the island and its visitor economy,” he added. At the standing-room-only meeting alongside representatives from Jersey Business, and former Jersey RFC head coach Mr Harvey. During the hearing, Mr Harvey said that the proposed hotel would be built on an existing car park so could not be said to be open countryside. Addressing the issue of size and mass, he stressed that international chains – such as IHG, Accor, Marriot and Hilton – dictated the required standards, including a minimum of 175 rooms. No one spoke against the application at the Planning Committee meeting. Those committee members siding with Planning’s recommendation for refusal were chair Constable Philip Le Sueur, vice-chair Deputy Alex Curtis, Constable Richard Honeycombe and Deputy Tom Coles. They agreed with the assigned Planning Officer’s conclusion that the plans would have a “harmful impact on the character of the countryside”, and “the building, by virtue of its siting, bulk and massing, would both singularly and cumulatively – with the existing Strive building – result in an extension of built form that would appear incongruous, overly dominant and imposing within the street scene and would result in harm to the landscape character of the area.” Constables Kevin Lewis and Mark Labey and Deputy Steve Ahier voted for the application. After the meeting, Jersey Business Chief Executive Officer Paul Murphy added that the close decision proved “that is evidence that there is support for the visitor economy”. He added: “I’m absolutely sure there’ll be a lot of disappointment around this decision, because if we think about our economy in its current state, we mustn’t continue on the journey we’re on, because there is some deterioration.”
