Copyright jerseyeveningpost
AN appeal against an decision to reject turning the former Nude Dunes café at La Pulente into self-catered holiday accommodation has been dismissed. The owner of the site, Nadia Millar, has been attempting to change the use of the building, which has been empty since Nude Dunes went bust in November 2023. The retention of public toilets was also included in the proposal. Her application was rejected by the Planning Committee in July and Ms Miller’s appeal against that decision has now been dismissed following a recommendation by independent planning inspector Nigel McGurk. Environment Minister Steve Luce accepted the recommendation, agreeing that the proposed development would be “highly visible due to the property’s dominant position and would cause significant harm to the character and special qualities of the Coastal National Park”. The inspector found that the proposal failed to meet the requirements of Island Plan, which calls for new visitor accommodation to enhance the quality of Jersey’s tourism offering. He noted that a development which detracts from the appeal of its location cannot be considered a positive contribution. While acknowledging the potential economic benefits of bringing a vacant building back into use, supporting tourism, and reopening public toilets, Mr McGurk concluded that these outcomes could be achieved through alternative proposals. Additionally, the inspector raised concerns about the shift away from a daytime and evening economy use. He stated that there is clear market demand for the site’s current use, and that the lack of alignment with the applicant’s financial expectations does not justify a change of use. The former toilet block at La Pulente was sold by the States to a developer in 2014 for £100,000. The owners of Nude Food bought the building in January using a loan from Ms Millar. They subsequently put the property on the market in March 2023, conditional on leasing the property back to the Nude Food for a minimum of ten years. However, no sale was forthcoming and Nude Food ceased trading in November 2023.
