Douzaine wants more information on 'triangle' housing development

Members of the Vale Douzaine have responded cautiously to proposals to build up to nine new homes on a small triangular section of land (pictured above) close to the entrance to Braye Road Industrial Estate.

Constable Richard Leale said, however, that the Douzaine was not immediately opposed to the plans from Gary Munro and Simon Holland, who bought the field for £420,000 with a view to developing it.

'The Douzaine recognises the need for additional housing and understands that people want to live in the Vale but would like to be convinced this is the right use and housing density for this parcel of land,' he said. 'It is also visually important in a built up area and many will remember it when it was used for grazing horses.

'We would like more information about the impact of this development on the surrounding areas, additional traffic flows, and how it fits in with the existing permissions for new properties in the immediate area, which have yet to be built.'

Development delays
He was referring to the large Meerveld development at the Rue du Tertre end of Braye Road, which appears to have been mothballed due to lack of demand, and, in particular, the Leale's Yard development, now scheduled to have a very large number of homes.

The lack of progress on Leale's Yard was particularly disturbing and the Douzaine had written to the owners, the Channel Islands Co-operative Society, requesting a meeting to discuss timescales and the impact the delay was having on retail units on the Bridge.

On the 'triangle' housing development, he said: 'We understand that planners have to have a "pipeline" of permissions to meet housing targets but need to be persuaded this isn't a piecemeal process that's ultimately detrimental to the parish.'

That was important because Douzaine colleagues in St Sampson's were very concerned about the absence of an infrastructure strategy in the area, a worry for the Vale as well.

• Separately, Mr Leale welcomed the statement from the Committee for Home Affairs in respect of the speed limit consultation launched by Environment. 'Basically, this supports the Douzaine view that the States has far better things to do than tinker around the edges with speed limits in this way. Resolving infrastructure and access to the Bridge are far more pressing from a parish perspective.'