Jersey’s deputy infrastructure minister Tom Binet decided to allow the proposals for developer Le Masurier after plans for the 0.8ha site between Broad Street and Commercial Street had twice been rejected.
Binet said he saw no reason not to grant approval for the scheme, which was first refused in December 2022. Sheppard Robson’s designs were again refused on appeal in October last year by assistant environment minister, deputy Hilary Jeune. However, after a challenge, that decision was thrown out by the island’s court.
The AJ100 practice’s Les Sablons scheme in St Helier proposed 930m2 of café and retail space on the ground floor alongside an aparthotel and housing above. Historic façades at 35-37 Broad Street would be retained alongside new build elements and new public realm.
The scheme provides 238 homes with a mixture of one, two and three-bed apartments alongside 103 studio apartments. Some site clearance has already taken place in preparation for the proposals first submitted in August 2021.
In October, Jeune, Jersey’s assistant housing minister, ruled that the scheme ‘significantly exceeded’ the height range guidance for the town and that, if built, it would be ‘overbearing and oppressive and of detriment to the amenity and character of the street’.
However, Jersey’s Royal Court declared the refusal unlawful, and overturned Jeune’s decision in December 2023 on the basis that she had ignored the advice of the planning inspector, ITV News reported. Binet then ruled on the scheme.
Sheppard Robson previously won consent in 2011 to develop the same site with 27,870m2 of office space and 37m2 of retail space at ground-floor level plus new public realm between Commercial Street and Broad Street. The practice then returned to the drawing board, swapping office space for housing.
Mark Kowal, partner at Sheppard Robson, said: ‘The design approach is shaped by the context and heritage of St Helier, recognising the narrow street patterns that characterise this part of the town centre.
‘The volume of the development is split into four distinct blocks, establishing a stepped massing strategy that responds to the surrounding townscape while ensuring minimal impact on key views of the roofscape of St Helier.
‘The material choices of the courtyard and the buildings that line it reference the historic coarse granite and brick texture of the area, with contrasting colours and materials used to visually separate the commercial spaces on the ground floor from the residences above.’
Completion of the scheme is expected to take four years.