Jersey glasshouse development rules clarified

Deputy Steve Luce, Jersey's Environment Minister, said development may be permitted on derelict glasshouse sites "in exceptional circumstances".

Jersey's government has clarified the rules for the redevelopment of derelict and redundant glasshouses.

Under the Island Plan, commercial glasshouses were considered to be temporary structures, which should be removed at the end of their economic life and the land returned to farming.

But earlier this year, the government sought islanders' views on allowing some glasshouse sites to be redeveloped.

Officials have now published more details of the assessment criteria after consultation responses indicated general support for allowing some sites to be used in a different way.

Officials have published more details of the framework against which applications for the redevelopment of redundant glasshouse sites would be assessed.

"We’re not going to turn derelict glasshouse sites into housing sites overnight, and that’s not the idea of the policy at all," said Deputy Steve Luce, Jersey's Environment Minister.

"However in exceptional circumstances there will be cases to maybe allow some development on these derelict and redundant greenhouse sites in return for big environmental gain for islanders."

Mr Luce said that the recently published Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) confirmed officials would take into consideration the proximity of the site to the built-up area, waste management plans and land contamination when determining applications.

He said: "The SPG will have a little bit more detail so they know exactly or more clearly what they’re doing, but we need to be absolutely clear, SPGs cannot change the policy, the policy is in the Island Plan."

Doug Richardson, from the Jersey Farmers Union, has welcomed the planning guidance.

Doug Richardson, the President of the Jersey Farmers' Union, said: "It’s reassuring to see that the minster took and wrote into the policy some of the ideas that the famers' union put forward, such as solar power generation, other agricultural uses, equine uses.

"I think the general trajectory is in the right direction."

"We have to have a change", said Kevin Hervé from Les Tours Farm in St Clement.

But Kevin Hervé, who owns Les Tours Farm in St Clement, said that the SPG did not go far enough.

"The cost is a million pounds to take the glass down, get the soil back into good condition," he said.

"We haven’t got that kind of money, so you need to have some kind of small development on the site to be able to get the remainder of the site back into agriculture.

"We have to have a change.

"I know very well that the current planning minister can make difficult decisions - and I’ll ask him to make those decisions.

"I’ll also ask the planners to come and talk to us."